ALVMNVS  BOOK  FYND 


SAINT  NORBERT 

(1080-1134) 


SAINT  NORBERT,   APOSTLE   OF   THE   BLESSED  SACRAMENT. 


Portrait   by   Abraham   van    Diepenbeek    (1599-1675). 
Angrels  and  Flowers  by  Adrian  van  Utrecht. 


HISTORY  OF  SAINT  NORBERT 

FOUNDER   OF  THE 

Norbertine  (Premonstratensian)  Order 

Apostle  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
Archbishop  of  Magdeburg 


BY  THE 

Rev.  CORNELIUS  J.  KIRKFLEET,  ORD.  PRAEM, 


En  Norbertinae  sunt  haec  compendia  Vitae 
Hie  quod  mireris,  quodque  sequaris,  habes. 

This  is  the  story  of  the  Life  of  St.  Norbert— 
Here  one  finds  things  to  admire  and  to  imitate. 


(WITH  TWELVE  ILLUSTRATIONS) 


B.  .HERDER 

17  SOUTH  BROAD  vv  AY,  Six  Louis,  Mo. 
A:;D     »«•,«    ->,>,., 
68  GREAT  RU-SRLIL  ST  ,  LONDON,,  W.C. 

1916 


APPROBATIO  ORDINIS.     B.  H.  Pennings,  O.  Praem. 

Prior  Provinciae  Americanae 


NIHIL  OBSTAT 

Sti.  Ludovici,  die  23.  August  19J6 

F.  G.  Holweck 

Censor  Llbrorum 


IMPRIMATUR 


Sti.  Ludovici,  die  23.  August  1916 

*  Joannes  J.  Glennon, 

Archiepiscopus 
Sti.  Ludovici 


Copyright,  1916 

ly 

Joseph  C-umyicrsbach 
All  rifthts  reserved 
Printed  in  'G.  S..  A. 


PREFACE 

The  life  of  Norbert,  a  Saint  of  the  twelfth  century, 
has  been  written  repeatedly  in  almost  every  language. 
In  the  "Acta  SS.»  (T.  XX.  et  1  Junii  app.  p.  38)  one 
of  the  Bollandists,  Father  Conrad  Jannick,  says:  "I 
hardly  know  of  an  illustrious  man — king,  emperor,  or 
saint — whose  life  has  been  written  more  often  than  Nor- 
bert's."  Of  Norbert  it  has  been  said  in  very  truth,  that 
his  deeds  have  been  glorified  by  numerous  historians  in 
their  annals,  by  poets  in  their  verses,  by  artists  on  their 
canvas. 

As  to  its  historical  value,  the  life-story  of  Norbert, 
as  Founder  of  a  Religious  Order,  is  a  reflection  of  the 
ecclesiastical  conditions  in  his  days — while  as  almoner 
at  the  court  of  Henry  V,  and  later  as  Archbishop  of  one 
of  the  most  important  sees  of  Germany,  his  life  gives 
an  insight  into  the  political  conditions  of  a  great  his- 
torical period. 

When  we  consider  that  at  one  time  there  were  no  less 
than  67  abbeys  of  Norbertine  or  White  Canons  in  Eng- 
land, Scotland  and  Ireland,  it  seems  very  strange  that 
Norbert  is  but  little  known  among  English-speaking  na- 
tions. However,  in  the  first  place,  we  should  remember 
that  since  the  Protestant  Reformation,  when  all  these 
houses  were  lost,  more  than  three  hundred  years  passed 
before  the  sons  of  Norbert  returned  to  England;  sec- 
ondly, only  a  very  short  account  of  Norbert 's  life  was 
thus  far  ever  written  in  the  English  language.  Today, 

372287 


vi  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

therefore,  as  the  Premonstratensian  Fathers  are  once 
more  engaged  in  missionary  activity  among  English- 
speaking  people  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  a  more 
detailed  life  of  St.  Norbert,  will,  we  trust,  be  welcomed. 

"We  shall  here  give  a  list  of  biographies  of  St.  Norbert ; 
first,  for  the  benefit  of  students  of  this  historical  period, 
and  secondly,  because  we  shall  often  have  occasion  to 
refer  to  these  in  the  course  of  our  history. 

Until  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  the  principal 
source  of  information  for  the  biographer  of  St.  Nor- 
bert was  a  MS.  attributed  to  Bl.  Hugh,  the  Saint's  first 
disciple  and  successor.  At  different  times  copies  were 
made  of  this  MS.  Thus,  one  may  be  seen  to-day  in  the 
British  Museum  in  London.  (No.  15621.)  The  Public 
Library  of  Soissons  (Aisne)  has  two  copies,  one  of  the 
twelfth  and  one  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The  Library 
of  Bourgogne  at  Brussels  has  one  copy  of  the  twelfth  and 
one  of  the  fifteenth  century.  All  are  entitled:  "Vita 
Norberti,  auctore  Canonico,  praeadjuvante  Hugone  ab- 
bate,  Fossense." 

This  Life  was  generally  used  by  all  compilers  until 
the  year  1856,  when  Mr.  Roger  Wilmans  discovered  in 
the  Royal  Library  at  Berlin,  a  manuscript  Life  of  Nor- 
bert of  the  thirteenth  century.  This  valuable  document 
he  published  in  vol.  XII  of  Pertz  "Monumenta  Ger- 
maniae  Historical '  "When  compared  with  the  MS. 
generally  in  use,  it  was  found  to  agree  in  everything ;  but 
in  the  latter  is  related  in  a  more  detailed  manner  the 
Life  of  the  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  his  dealings  with 
the  Emperor,  and  the  expedition  of  Lothaire  and  Nor- 
bert to  Italy  (1132-1133).  Although  no  one  has  been 
able  to  find  out  who  was  the  author  of  this  MS.,  it  is 
now  generally  believed,  that  he  was  a  German;  this 


Preface  vii 

is  clear  from  the  contents  and  the  expressions  he  uses; 
also  that  the  MS.  is  a  copy  of  the  MS.  by  Bl.  Hugh,  but 
with  additions,  especially  that  on  Norbert's  influence  in 
Germany.  This  MS.  is  referred  to  as  "Vita  A,"  while 
the  one  by  Hugh  is  called  "Vita  B."  These  observations 
are  based  on  a  series  of  articles  published  in  the  ' '  Katho- 
liek,"  a  Holland  publication,  in  the  year  1885.  The 
author,  Father  G.  VandenElsen,  0.  Praem.,  has  made 
a  thorough  study  of  these  two  oldest  biographies  of  St. 
Norbert. 

The  first  printed  Life  of  St.  Norbert  came  out  in  the 
year  1572  and  was  published  by  Surius  in  his:  "De 
Probatis  Sanctorum  Historiis."  (T.  III.,  p.  517-547.) 
This  is  an  abridgement  of  the  old  MS.  now  known  as 
the  "Vita  B." 

Since  that  date  Norbert 's  Life  has  been  printed  and 
reprinted  in  various  languages.  Thus  appeared  in 

1599:  "Divi  Norberti  vita  metrica" — Leodii — publ.  by 

Malcorp. 
1623:  "Vita  S.  Norberti  iconibus  expressa."  Theod.  Gal- 

leus  excudit.    Antverpiae. 
1623:  "Het  leven  van   den  H.   Norbertus ' '— Van   der 

Sterre — Antwerp. 
1627:  "Vie  de  Saint  Norbert"  by  Maurice  du  Pre— 

Paris. 
1632:  "Compendia  della  vita,  miracoli  ed  istituto  del 

glorioso  Patriarca  San  Norberto"  by  Cornelius 

Hanegravius.    Rome. 
1633:  "Vita  S.  Norberti"  T.  I.  "Bibliotheca  Ordinis 

Praemonstratensis"  by  Le  Paige — Paris. 
1640:  "L'homme  Apostolique  en  la  vie  de  S.  Norbert" 

by  Camus.     Caen. 


viii  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

1641:  "Vita  et  gesta  S.  Norberti "— Vindelicae— by  P. 
Schellenberg,  S.  J. 

1650:  "S.  Norberti  vita  metro  libera  "— Duaci— by  De 
Waghenare. 

1656:  "Vita  S.  Norberti" — Antverpiae — by  Van  der 
Sterre.  This  is  the  complete  MS.  life,  known 
as  "Vita  B."  We  read  in  the  Prologue: 
"Cum  multi  hujus  vitam  et  gesta  conscripser- 
int,  nullum  omnino  invenerim  qui  rem  plenarie 
et  ex  ordine  prosequatur.  .  .  ." 

1661:  "Vita  S.  Norberti"  in  the  "Monasticon  Angli- 
cum''  T.  II.  p.  577  et  seqq. — Londini. 

1667:  "Vida  Apostolica,  muerte  y  translacion  di  N.  P. 
San  Norbetto"  by  Francesco  Dubai. — Madrid. 

1683:  "Historia  critica  S.  Norberti" — lenae — by  Gas- 
par  Sagittarius  (Protestant). 

1695:  "Vita  S.  Norberti"  6  Junii  in  Acta  Sanctorum 
T.  XX. 

1704:  "Histoire  de  Saint  Norbert"— by  Charles  Louis 
Hugo — Luxemburg. 

1732:  "Vita  S.  Norberti"— by  Daniel  Schlinder— 
Pragae. 

1738:  "Vita  S.  Norberti  recognita"  vol.  Ill  of  the  An- 
nales  Ord.  Praem.  by  Charles  Louis  Hugo. 

1755:  "Historia  del  gran  Padre  San  Norberto" — Grand 
by  Abad  Illana. 

1855:  "De  S.  Norberto  Ord.  Praem.  Conditore,  com- 
mentatio  historica"  by  Tenckoff.  Minister. 

1859:  "Vita  S.  Norberti"  by  Joseph  Scholtz.     Breslau. 

1860:  "Saint  Norbert,  Arch,  de  Magdebourg  et  Fonda- 
teur  de  1'Ordre  de  Premontre.  Lille. 

1865:  "Die  Pramonstratenser  der  12  Jahrh."  Berlin— 
by  Franz  Winter.  (Protestant.) 


Preface  ix 

1866:  "Histoire  de  S.  Norbert ' '— Bruxelles— by  P.  Al- 
phonse  de  Liguori. 

1874:  "Die  altesten  biographien  des  heiligen  Norbertus" 
— Berlin — by  Rosenmund. 

1875:  "lenae  Literaturzeitung" — Bernhardi. 

1876:  "Die  streitige  Papstwahl  des  Jahres  1130. "  Inns- 
bruck.— Muhlbacher. 

1877:  "Svaty  Norbert"  by  Dominic  Cermak. — Prague. 

1883:  "Leben  des  heiligen  Norbertus"  by  G.  Hertel. — 
Leipsig. 

1886:  "Histoire  de  saint  Norbert  .  .  .  d'apres  les  manu- 
scrits  et  les  documents  originaux. "  by  G.  Made- 
laine.  Lille. 

1886:  "The  Life  of  St.  Norbert"  by  M.  Geudens,  Lon- 
don. 

1890:  "Het  leven  van  den  heiligen  Norbertus"  by  G. 
VandenElsen. — Averbode,  Belgium. 

1898:  "Vie  de  saint  Norbert.  Tableaux  historiques  du 
XII  Siecle."  by  Ign.  Van  Spillbeeck.  Bruxelles. 

1900:  "Der  heilige  Norbert"  by  Alphonse  Zak.  Wien. 

1914:  "Der  HI.  Norbert"  by  Barth.  Wozasek— Wien. 

The  above  list  shows  how,  especially  since  the  discov- 
ery of  Mr.  Wilmans  in  1856,  the  former  interest  in  the 
history  of  St.  Norbert  has  been  revived  in  the  different 
countries  of  Europe.  And  thus  it  has  been  a  compara- 
tively easy  task  for  the  present  writer  to  compile  this 
history.  "Whenever  possible  he  has  taken  quotations 
from  English  authors  and  historians,  but  for  the  rest  he 
has  chiefly  relied  on  "Het  leven  van  den  H.  Norbertus" 
by  G.  VandenElsen,  of  whose  accuracy  the  writer  is 
fully  convinced,  and  the  "Histoire  de  Saint  Norbert"  by 
G.  Madelaine,  whose  history  of  the  Saint  is  said  to  be  the 


x  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

most  complete.  Both  these  authors  have  relied  on  the 
"Vita  B,"  the  oldest  life,  and  have  used  the  "Vita" 
discovered  by  Mr.  Wilmans  as  a  secondary  source  of 
information. 

It  now  remlains  to  express  sincere  thanks  to  all  those 
whose  assistance  has  s'o  greatly  lightened  the  burden  of 
the  compiler.  May  the  intercession  of  St.  Norbert,  in 
whose  honor  the  work  has  been  undertaken,  be  their 
constant  reward.  THE  AUTHOR. 

ST.  NOBBERT'S  COLLEGE, 
WEST  DEPERE,  Wis. 
December,  1915. 


CONTENTS 

Preface IT 

First  Period 

FROM  THE  BIRTH  OF  NORBERT  UNTIL  THE  FOUNDATION  OF 
His  ORDEB. 

1080-1120. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Page 

Birth  and  Education  of  Norbert — Is  ordained  Sub-Deacon 
— His  worldly  life  at  the  Court  of  the  Archbishop — 
At  the  Court  of  Henry — His  journey  to  Rome  as  al- 
moner to  the  Emperor — His  conduct  towards  Pope 
Paschal  II. — His  return  to  the  Court  of  the  Arch- 
bishop. (1080-1115.) 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

Norbert's  miraculous  Conversion  on  the  road  to  Freden — 
His  Retreat  in  the  Benedictine  Abbey  of  Siburg— His 
temptations  and  trials — His  Ordination  to  the  Priest- 
hood at  Cologne — His  acquaintance  with  Abbot  Rupert 
— His  ardent  desire  for  "Reform."  (1115.)  13 

CHAPTER  III. 

Norbert  the  Penitent — He  is  insulted  and  persecuted — De- 
cried as  a  fanatic — His  meekness  and  humility — His 
faith  shown  at  the  Grotto — His  meeting  with  Ludolph, 
the  Hermit — His  appearance  before  the  Council  of 
Fritzlar — He  gives  all  he  has  to  the  poor — "Ad  omne 
opus  bonum  paratus" — Says  farewell  to  his  people. 
(1116-1118.) 24 


xii  History  of  Saint  Norbert 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Norbert  begins  his  missionary  career — Visits  the  Pope  in 
France — The  Missionary  Apostolic — His  success  at 
Valenciennes — Death  of  his  three  Companions — Meets 
Bishop  Burchard — Norbert  and  Hugh,  his  first  dis- 
ciple—His illness.  (1118-1119. ) 36 

CHAPTER  V. 

Norbert  resumes  his  missionary  labors — His  love  for  Pov- 
erty— His  wonderful  success  in  reconciling  enemies — 
Instructing  his  disciple — Norbert  at  Posse — Death  of 
Pope  Gelasius  —  Norbert's  enemies  —  Bartholomew, 
Bishop  of  Laon — Norbert  appears  at  the  Council  of 
Rheims.  (1119.)  48 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Bartholomew  retains  Norbert  in  his  diocese — Norbert  fails 
in  reforming  the  canons  of  St.  Martin's  Abbey — His 
first  visit  to  Premontre — Apparition  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin — Meaning  of  the  name  "Premontre" — Prop- 
erty given  to  Norbert  by  the  Bishop.  (1119-1120.) .63 


Second  Period 

FROM  THE  TIME  THE  ORDER  is  FOUNDED  UNTIL  NORBERT 
BECOMES  ARCHBISHOP  OF  MAGDEBURG. 

1120-1126. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Norbert  goes  out  in  search  of  followers — First  trial  at  Pre- 
montre— A  Robbery — Meeting  of  Evermode — Recep- 
tion of  Habit — Deed  of  the  property  at  Premontre — 
Building  of  huts — Uncertainty  as  to  Rule — Synod  of 
Soissons — Norbert  opposes  Abelard — His  power  over 
the  hearts  of  sinners.  (1120-1121.) 74 


Contents  xiii 

CHAPTER  II. 

Page 

Second  Order  of  St.  Norbert — Ricvere  first  nun — The  evil 
spirit  at  work  in  Premontre — Some  religious  return 
to  the  world — Accusations  against  the  Saint — Norbert 
at  Nivelles — Norbert  at  Cologne — He  discovers  numer- 
ous relics — Foundation  of  second  house — Floreffe. 
(1121.) 88 

CHAPTER  III. 

Norbert  returns  to  Premontre  with  thirty  disciples — New 
huts  are  built — Apparition  of  St.  Augustine — His  Rule 
— First  solemn  Profession  on  Christmas  night,  1121 — 
Object  and  character  of  the  Premonstratensian  Order — 
Devotion  to  the  Blessed  Eucharist  and  to  the  Blessed  j 
Virgin  —  The  serving  of  parishes  —  Teaching  —  The 
white  habit 101 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Organization  of  the  Young  Community — Norbert's 
favorite  Counsels — Daily  life  of  the  clerics — Their 
studies  and  manual  labor — Penance — The  life  of  lay- 
brothers — The  Rule  of  the  nuns — Blessed  Ricvere,  the 
first  nun 114 

CHAPTER  V. 

Church  and  Monastery  are  built  at  PremontrS — Laying  of 
cornerstone — Miraculous  happenings  at  Floreffe  and 
Maestricht — Satan  at  work  among  the  builders  at  Pre- 
montre— Solemn  dedication  of  the  church — Sad  acci- 
dent— Beauty  of  abbey  of  PremontrS — Rapid  develop- 
ment of  the  Order.  (1122.)  126 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Norbert  and  Count  Godfrey — Abbey  of  Cappenberg — Con- 
vent of  Nieder-Clooster — Count  Otto— Opposition  of 


xiv  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Frederic,  Count  of  Arensberg — Norbert's  influence 
with  Henry  V. — His  part  in  restoring  peace  between 
the  German  Emperor  and  Pope  Calixtus — End  of  In- 
vestiture— Foundations  in  Germany — Death  of  Bl.  God- 
frey   140 

CHAPTER  VH. 

St.  Norbert  and  Theobald,  Count  of  Champagne — Theobald 
wants  to  follow  the  example  of  Godfrey — Is  dissuaded 
by  Norbert — Origin  and  object  of  the  Third  Order — 
Theobald  its  first  member — Rule  to  be  observed  by  Ter- 
tiaries — Marvelous  growth  of  Norbert's  work 152 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Tanchelm,  the  heretic — His  life  and  teaching— Canons  quit 
Antwerp — Bishop  Burchard  invites  Norbert — Norbert 
sets  out  with  eleven  disciples — Their  triumph  over 
heresy — Norbert  is  called  the  Apostle  of  Antwerp — 
His  love  for  the  Blessed  Sacrament 162 

CHAPTER  IX. 

New  Foundations  in  France  and  Belgium — St.  Martin's 
Abbey  at  Laon — Foundations  in  Switzerland  and  Po- 
land— The  Order  is  confirmed  by  the  Papal  Legates — 
Norbert's  critics — Dialogue  between  a  religious  of 
Cluny  and  a  monk  of  Citeaux — Some  of  the  Saint's 
admirers 174 

CHAPTER  X. 

St.  Bernard  and  St.  Norbert — Striking  similarity  of  their 
life-story — Close  companions  in  the  work  of  "Reform" 
— Mutual  admiration  and  co-operation — Their  friend- 
ship for  Count  Theobald — Love  of  St.  Bernard  for  the 
Premonstratensian  Order — He  recommends  the  sons 
of  St.  Norbert  to  the  Queen  of  Jerusalem 188 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Miraculous  happenings  at  Premontre — Norbert's  journey  to 
Ratisbon— Count  Engelbert — Spanish  Disciples — Nor- 


Contents  xv 

bert's  Order  and  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic — The  win- 
ter of  1125 — Norbert's  great  love  for  the  poor — Docu- 
ment which  makes  provision  for  the  poor  in  all  Pre- 
nionstratensian  abbeys 199 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Norbert  is  still  opposed — His  journey  to  Rome — Pope 
Honorius  confirms  the  Order — The  Bull  issued  by  the 
Pope — Prophetic  words  in  Rome — New  foundations  on 
German  soil  —  Miracle  of  Wurzburg  where,  through 
Norbert,  God  restores  sight  to  a  blind  woman — The 
People  want  Norbert  for  their  Bishop — His  return  to 
Pr6montre 211 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Abbots  and  Provosts  in  the  Order — New  Foundations — 
Everwin,  Abbot  of  Steinfeldt — Concerning  the  mar- 
riage of  Count  Theobald — Norbert's  farewell  address 
to  his  disciples — Solemn  Diet  of  Spires — Norbert  is 
proclaimed  Archbishop 224 

Third    Peirod 

FROM  THE  TIME  NORBERT  BECOMES  ARCHBISHOP 
UNTIL  His  DEATH. 

1126-1134. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Norbert's  triumphant  entrance  into  Magdeburg — His  ap- 
pearance— The  Doorkeeper  refuses  him  admittance — 
His  episcopal  Consecration — Conditions  of  the  times — 
Norbert  begins  his  work  of  reform — Meets  with  great 
opposition — He  receives  the  Pallium — General  condi- 
tion of  the  diocese — Wends — First  Missionary  expe- 
dition of  Norbert 240 

CHAPTER  II. 

Relations  between  Norbert  and  King  Lothaire  —  Takes 
sides  against  Conrad — A  friend  of  the  religious  of  his 


xvi  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

diocese — His  visit  to  Premontre  and  Xanten — Vision 
of  Hugh — The  government  of  the  Order  goes  over  to 
Hugh — First  General  Chapter — The  Fathers  come  into 
Magdeburg 255 

CHAPTER  III. 

Plots  against  the  life,  of  the  Saint — Archdeacon  Atticus — 
The  false  penitent — How  God  warned  the  Saint — A 
second  attempt  is  made  on  his  life — Desecration  of 
Cathedral  occasion  for  outbreak — A  riot — The  Saint 
and  the  Canons  sing  the  Office  of  Matins  in  the 
tower  —  False  accusations  against  Norbert  —  The 
Saint's  courage— Mass  of  thanksgiving.  (1129-1130.).  269 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A  new  attack  on  Norbert's  life — Diabolical  plan — Norbert 
is  forced  to  leave  Magdeburg— His  stay  at  Bergen— 
Pronounces  the  excommunication — Norbert's  triumph- 
ant return — His  address — Peaceful  administration  of 
the  diocese — Progress  of  the  Order — Habit  of  the  Ger- 
man Fathers.  (1130.) 283 

CHAPTER  V. 

Schism  of  Peter  di  Leone — Condition  of  the  times — Conse- 
quences of  Schism — Norbert's  activity  for  the  recog- 
nition of  the  lawful  Pontiff — Two  important  letters — 
Diet  of  Wurzburg  —  Antipope  flatters  Norbert  — 
Norbert  is  excommunicated  by  Anacletus — Pope  Inno- 
cent and  Norbert  visit  Premontre  —  Pope  Confirms 
the  Order.  (1130-1131.) 294 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Intrigues  of  Anacletus — Innocent  sets  out  for  Rome — St. 
Bernard — Norbert's  part  in  Italian  expedition — Im- 
perial Chancellor — Revolt  at  Augsburg — Schemes  of 
Anacletus  frustrated  by  Norbert — Admirable  conduct 
of  Norbert  at  Lothaire's  coronation — Primate  of  Ger- 
many— Pope  expresses  gratitude  to  Norbert.  (1132- 
1133.) 308 


Contents  xvii 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Page 

Norbert  returns  to  Magdeburg — Drives  out  the  evil  spirit 
— Raises  three  dead  to  life  —  Foundation  of  Berne, 
Mother-Abbey  of  American  foundation — The  Saint's 
last  illness — His  thoughtfulness  for  the  future — His 
edifying  death — Dispute  regarding  the  remains — The 
solemn  burial — Apparitions.  (1134.) 323 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Review  of  the  principal  events  of  Norbert's  life — His  place 
in  history — His  writings — Norbert  and  Luther — Nor- 
bert's canonization — Reasons  why  at  first  postponed — 
His  relics  exposed  to  profanation — Norbert  is  canon- 
ized in  1582 — Papal  Bull— Translation  of  Relics — Great 
demonstration  in  honor  of  St.  Norbert 337 

General  Index  .  .  354 


List  of  Illustrations 

Page 

1.  St.  Norbert,  Apostle  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament .  Frontispiece 

Portrait  by  Abraham  van  Diepenbeek  (1599-1675). 
Angels  and  flowers  by  Adrian  van  Utrecht.  (Cathe- 
dral of  Antwerp.) 

2.  By  Faith  and  Patience 28 

Engraving  by  Theod.  Gallus  (1622). 

3.  St.  Norbert  in  adoration  before  the  Blessed  Sacra- 

ment       55 

Painting  by  Maarten  Pepyn  (1837).  (Cathedral  of 
Antwerp.) 

4.  Apparition  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 68 

5.  Apparition  of  St.  Augustine 102 

6.  St.  Norbert  refutes  Tanchelm 162 

7.  Triumph  of  St.  Norbert  over  Tanchelm 171 

(Window  in  Cathedral  of  Antwerp.) 

8.  St.  Norbert  (so-called  Vera  Effigies)   228 

Painting  by  Abraham  van  Diepenbeek   (1599-1675). 

9.  St.  Mary's  provostry  at  Magdeburg 268 

10.  St.  Norbert  raises  the  dead  to  life 324 

11.  Chapel  of  St.  Norbert  in  the  church  of  the  Abbey  of 

Strahov  (near  Prague),  where  the  Saint's  body  is 
kept.  In  the  window  appears  St.  Norbert,  a  Nor- 
bertine  Canon  and  a  Nun 330 

12.  Translation  of  the  Relics  of  St.  Norbert 349 

Painting  by  Siardus  Nosecky,  O.  Praem  (1710). 

(Abbey  of  Strahov  near  Prague.) 


HISTORY  OF  ST.  NORBERT 

CHAPTER  I 
HIS  BIRTH  AND  EDUCATION. 

Pone  metum  Hadwigis:  sic  vox  monet  aethere  lapsa: 
Tarn  mundo  Illustrem  gignere  digna  Virum.i 

"Be  of  good  courage,  Hadwigis,"  said  a  voice  from  heaven, 
"for  you  are  found  worthy  to  be  the  mother  of  a  renowned 
servant  of  God." 

No  observant  student,  scanning  the  history  of  Chris- 
tianity, can  fail  to  see  the  Providence  of  God  coming  to  her 
rescue,  whenever  special  intervention  seems  necessary. 
As  often'  as  the  powers  of  darkness  and  the  intrigues 
of  a  corrupt  world  threatened  to  undermine  the  faith 
and  morals  of  the  multitude,  so  often  did  the  Holy 
Spirit  raise  up  men  of  learning  and  sanctity  to  coun- 
teract the  evil  influences  of  Satan's  helpmates.  Some  of 
our  most  eminent  Saints  have  lived  in  the  times  of  moral 
corruption.  They  were  sent  by  God  to  lead  the  army 
of  the  faithful  against  the  legions  of  vice  and  heresy, 
and  thus  defend  the  honor  of  the  Spouse  of  Christ. 

The  year  of  our  Saint's  conversion  coincides  with  the 

i  These  Latin  verses  were  composed  by  an  unknown  author 
and  originally  formed  the  inscriptions  under  thirty-five  paint- 
ings representing  scenes  of  the  life  of  St.  Norbert.  The  paint- 
ings were  executed  by  J.  A.  Pfeffel,  1674-1750.  Cfr.  "Icono- 
graphie  Norbertine,"  by  Ign.  Van  Spilbeeck,  O.  Praem.  Vol. 
Ill,  P.  61. 


2  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

death,  of  Tankelin  or  Tanchelm,  the  heretic,  who  had 
shaken  the  faith  and  corrupted  the  morals  of  thousands. 
His  followers  were  found  in  Flanders,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ehine,  and  had  infested  the  diocese  of  Cologne. 
Norbert  was  the  Angel  of  peace  chosen  to  restore  the 
true  practices  of  religion,  to  defeat  Abelard  and  Peter 
di  Leone,  and  to  raise  a  strong  arm  on  the  side  of  right 
in  the  conflict  then  raging  between  the  temporal  and 
the  spiritual  powers. 

The  traveler  coming  down  the  Rhine  from  Wesel 
towards  Nymegen,  beholds  to  his  left — at  the  extreme 
border  of  an  immense  plain — the  two  rising  spires  of 
the  collegiate  church  of  Xanten.  The  town,  situated  near 
Wesel,  has  only  about  four  thousand  inhabitants,  who 
are  nearly  all  Catholic.  Built  at  the  foot  of  mount  Fiir- 
stenberg,  Xanten  has  a  certain  attractiveness,  increased 
by  an  ancient  venerableness  difficult  to  define.  Although 
the  date  of  its  exact  origin  is  lost  to  history,  local  pride 
traces  it  back  to  the  city  of  Troy — the  Troy  of  the 
Franks.  To  the  end  of  the  third  century  its  name  was 
"Vetera  Castra."  However,  since  it  became  the  scene 
of  the  martyrdom  of  a  number  of  soldiers  belonging  to 
the  illustrious  Theban  Legion,  the  name  has  been  changed 
into  Xanten,  the  town  of  Saints.2 

In  this  historic  little  town  Norbert  was  born  in  the 
year  1080,3  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  families  of 
Germany's  nobility.  His  father,  whose  name  was  Heri- 
bert,  was  related  to  the  Imperial  House  itself,  and  his 


2  Cfr.  Acta  SS.  T.  V.,  Octob.,  p.  14-30. 

s  This  is  the  date  on  which  most  biographers  agree.  There 
are  some  who  name  1084  and  even  1086,  but  give  no  reason 
for  it. 


The  Parents  of  Norbert  3 

mother  Hadwigis,  was  a  descendant  of  the  ancient  House 
of  Lorraine.  His  father  bore  the  title  of  Count  of  Gen- 
nep,  which  he  derived  from  his  great  castle,  situated 
about  seven  miles  from  Xanten.  The  road  leading  from 
the  castle  to  the  village  is  called  Norbert 's  road  to  this 
day,  on  which  account  there  is  a  local  tradition  that  the 
Saint  was  born  in  the  castle.  Most  historians  agree,  how- 
ever, that  his  cradle  stood  in  his  father's  costly  mansion 
at  Xanten,  where  he  also  received  his  early  education. 
His  parents,  belonging  to  God's  nobility  as  well  as 
that  of  the  world,  were  both  virtuous  and  God-fearing 
Christians.  Besides  Norbert,  they  had  another  son,  Heri- 
bert  by  name,  older  than  the  Saint,  and  one  younger, 
Erbert.4  The  Saint's  mother  especially  was  a  very  pious 
woman.  Although  history  is  quite  silent  about  her,  there 
is  one  very  significant  incident  of  her  life  related  in  all 
the  biographies  of  Norbert.  Shortly  before  the  Saint 
was  born,  she  heard  very  distinctly  a  voice  from  heaven, 
saying:  "Be  of  good  courage,  Hadwigis,  for  you  are 
found  worthy  to  be  the  mother  of  a  renowned  servant  of 
God,  a  future  illustrious  archbishop."  Thus  also  were 
announced  the  great  Samuel,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and 
other  Saints.  As  the  golden  dawn  heralds  the  sun  which 
brings  to  the  earth  light  and  heat,  so  also  were  an- 
nounced the  approach  of  these  saints,  who  were  to 
spread  the  light  of  the  Gospel  and  kindle  the  warmth 
of  Jesus'  love  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  Blessed  in- 
deed may  we  call  the  mother  who  receives  such  tidings 
from  above.  It  was  also  said  of  the  Precursor  of  Our 

*  This  younger  brother  is  mentioned  in  the  Necrology  of 
Xanten  and  Floreffe.  Cfr.  further  in  the  Acta  SS.  T.  I.  Junii 
Analecta  C-  III,  p.  857. 


4  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Lord  that  he  would  be  great  before  God,  and  it  is  re- 
markable that  Norbert  during  his  lifetime  always  con- 
sidered the  great  Preacher  of  Penance  his  special  pa- 
tron and  protector.  He  tried  continually  to  model  his 
own  life  after  St.  John's  example. 

When  the  new-born  babe  was  baptized,  it  was  not 
without  reason  that  his  name  was  called  Norbert  or 
Notbert,  for  this  name  means  " Shield  of  the  North." 
As  history  will  prove,  our  Saint  in  reality  did  become 
a  protector  of  Northern  Europe  against  the  invasions 
of  Paganism,  where  his  Order  for  centuries  proved  a 
mighty  rampart. 

Although  we  know  very  little  about  Norbert 's  early 
education,  we  have  no  doubt  that  his  pious  mother 
took  charge  of  it  herself  and  gave  him  a  gentle  and 
reverential  training.  She  also  must  have  imprinted 
upon  that  youthful  soul  that  real  piety,  which,  though 
dimjned  for  a  time,  shone  forth  in  all  its  splendor  im- 
mediately after  his  conversion.  It  must  be  further  ob- 
served that  Xanten  had  a  collegiate  church,  formed  in 
those  days  after  the  model  of  cathedrals,  and  therefore 
had  a  grammar  school  attached,  the  duties  of  the  Canons 
being  such  as  did  not  occupy  more  than  a  few  hours 
each  day.  Probably,  therefore,  the  education  of  our 
youthful  Saint  was  entrusted  to  the  Canons  of  Xanten.5 
He  quickly  surpassed  his  fellow-students,  and  convinced 
his  teachers  of  the  fact  that  God  had  bestowed  ex- 

s  This  is  the  opinion  of  G.  VandenElsen  "Het  leven  van  den 
H.  Norbertus,"  p.  6.  Madelaine  in  his  "Vie  de  Saint  Norbert," 
p.  33,  observes  that  it  is  more  probable  that  Norbert  had  a  pri- 
vate tutor  at  home,  according  to  the  custom  of  wealthy  fam- 
ilies in  those  days.  Both  agree  about  Norbert's  going  to  the 
University  of  Cologne. 


N orb ert's  Appearance  5 

traordinary  gifts  upon  him.  Before  very  long,  the 
Canons  advised  Norbert's  father  to  send  his  son  to  a 
university.  Norbert  went  to  Cologne,  where  he  again  so 
distinguished  himself,  that  when  he  was  twenty  years  of 
age,  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  scholar.  His  contempor- 
aries are  unanimous  in  praising  his  profound  knowledge 
of  philosophy.  This  solid  foundation  served  him  ad- 
mirably in  his  later  life,  when  he  was  called  upon  to 
refute  the  heretical  doctrine  of  the  clever  Abelard  and 
expose  the  sophistry  of  the  party  of  the  antipope.  He 
had  moreover  an  inborn  eloquence  and  a  wide  knowledge 
of  literature,  sacred  and  profane.  When  we  add  to  all 
this  his  noble  birth  and  genteel  appearance,  we  can 
readily  believe  that  the  young  Norbert  was  considered 
a  veritable  leader  among  the  rising  generation  of  his 
day.  His  biographers  agree  that  he  was  tall  in  stature — 
in  bearing,  graceful  and  refined,  quick  and  penetrating 
of  intellect,  tractable  and  tender  of  heart.  Thus  equipped 
at  the  age  of  twenty,  our  Saint  faced  the  world  at  the 
time  of  its  mediaeval  crisis. 

The  two  great  powers  of  the  civilized  world  had  for 
years  been  at  open  war.  The  great  Pope  Hildebrand 
had  died  when  Norbert  was  a  child  of  four,  and  condi- 
tions were  still  very  much  unsettled.  Although  the 
right  of  lay-investiture  had  been  taken  away  from  the 
Crown — although  the  perfidious  Henry  had  gone  to 
Canossa,  in  Germany,  the  old  simoniacal  practices  had 
long  since  been  resumed.  The  war  between  the  tem- 
poral and  the  spiritual  powers,  far  from  being  settled, 
continued  as  a  matter  of  fact,  for  more  than  fifty  years, 
and  the  Saint  himself  took  an  active  part  in  this  great 
struggle  and  also  beheld  the  triumph  of  the  Church 
before  his  death. 


4  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Lord  that  he  would  be  great  before  Gk>d,  and  it  is  re- 
markable that  Norbert  during  his  lifetime  always  con- 
sidered the  great  Preacher  of  Penance  his  special  pa- 
tron and  protector.  He  tried  continually  to  model  his 
own  life  after  St.  John's  example. 

When  the  new-b6rn  babe  was  baptized,  it  was  not 
without  reason  that  his  name  was  called  Norbert  or 
Notbert,  for  this  name  means  "Shield  of  the  North." 
As  history  will  prove,  our  Saint  in  reality  did  become 
a  protector  of  Northern  Europe  against  the  invasions 
of  Paganism,  where  his  Order  for  centuries  proved  a 
mighty  rampart. 

Although  we  know  very  little  about  Norbert 's  early 
education,  we  have  no  doubt  that  his  pious  mother 
took  charge  of  it  herself  and  gave  him  a  gentle  and 
reverential  training.  She  also  must  have  imprinted 
upon  that  youthful  soul  that  real  piety,  which,  though 
dimimed  for  a  time,  shone  forth  in  all  its  splendor  im- 
mediately after  his  conversion.  It  must  be  further  ob- 
served that  Xanten  had  a  collegiate  church,  formed  in 
those  days  after  the  model  of  cathedrals,  and  therefore 
had  a  grammar  school  attached,  the  duties  of  the  Canons 
being  such  as  did  not  occupy  more  than  a  few  hours 
each  day.  Probably,  therefore,  the  education  of  our 
youthful  Saint  was  entrusted  to  the  Canons  of  Xanten.5 
He  quickly  surpassed  his  fellow-students,  and  convinced 
his  teachers  of  the  fact  that  God  had  bestowed  ex- 


s  This  is  the  opinion  of  G.  VandenElsen  "Het  leven  van  den 
H.  Norbertus,"  p.  6.  Madelaine  in  his  "Vie  de  Saint  Norbert," 
p.  33,  observes  that  it  is  more  probable  that  Norbert  had  a  pri- 
vate tutor  at  home,  according  to  the  custom  of  wealthy  fam- 
ilies in  those  days.  Both  agree  about  Norbert's  going  to  the 
University  of  Cologne. 


Norbert's  Appearance  5 

traordinaiy  gifts  upon  him.  Before  very  long,  the 
Canons  advised  Norbert's  father  to  send  his  son  to  a 
university.  Norbert  went  to  Cologne,  where  he  again  so 
distinguished  himself,  that  when  he  was  twenty  years  of 
age,  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  scholar.  His  contempor- 
aries are  unanimous  in  praising  his  profound  knowledge 
of  philosophy.  This  solid  foundation  served  him  ad- 
mirably in  his  later  life,  when  he  was  called  upon  to 
refute  the  heretical  doctrine  of  the  clever  Abelard  and 
expose  the  sophistry  of  the  party  of  the  antipope.  He 
had  moreover  an  inborn  eloquence  and  a  wide  knowledge 
of  literature,  sacred  and  profane.  When  we  add  to  all 
this  his  noble  birth  and  genteel  appearance,  we  can 
readily  believe  that  the  young  Norbert  was  considered 
a  veritable  leader  among  the  rising  generation  of  his 
day.  His  biographers  agree  that  he  was  tall  in  stature — 
in  bearing,  graceful  and  refined,  quick  and  penetrating 
of  intellect,  tractable  and  tender  of  heart.  Thus  equipped 
at  the  age  of  twenty,  our  Saint  faced  the  world  at  the 
time  of  its  mediaeval  crisis. 

The  two  great  powers  of  the  civilized  world  had  for 
years  been  at  open  war.  The  great  Pope  Hildebrand 
had  died  when  Norbert  was  a  child  of  four,  and  condi- 
tions were  still  very  much  unsettled.  Although  the 
right  of  lay-investiture  had  been  taken  away  from  the 
Crown — although  the  perfidious  Henry  had  gone  to 
Canossa,  in  Germany,  the  old  simoniacal  practices  had 
long  since  been  resumed.  The  war  between  the  tem- 
poral and  the  spiritual  powers,  far  from  being  settled, 
continued  as  a  matter  of  fact,  for  more  than  fifty  years, 
and  the  Saint  himself  took  an  active  part  in  this  great 
struggle  and  also  beheld  the  triumph  of  the  Church 
before  his  death. 


6  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

It  might  be  well  to  call  the  reader's  attention  to  the 
fact  that  we  are  now  at  the  beginning  of  the  period  of 
the  Crusades.  The  zealous  indignation  over  the  insults 
and  cruelties  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Turks  by 
Christians  in  the  Holy  Land,  was  just  at  its  height. 
Great  fears  were  being  entertained  as  to  the  fate  of  that 
valiant  army  of  over  half  a  million  warriors,  many  of 
whom  were  of  the  nobility,  who  had  set  out  for  Asia 
Minor.  And  if  anywhere,  it  certainly  must  have  been 
at  the  home  of  Norbert  that  the  movements  of  the 
Crusaders  were  being  watched  with  feverish  excitement, 
since  the  leader  himself,  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  Duke  of 
Lower-Lorraine,  was  a  blood-relation  of  Norbert 's 
mother.  Although  it  is  but  insinuated  in  some  biog- 
raphies, it  seems  quite  probable  that,  when  on  July 
15th  of  that  same  year  the  news  came  from  the  Holy 
Land  that  Jerusalem  was  captured  and  that  Godfrey 
had  been  proclaimed  its  King,  Norbert 's  enthusiasm  to 
join  the  army  of  the  Crusaders  was  thoroughly  aroused. 
How  very  natural  to  picture  this  accomplished  young 
man,  in  the  vigor  of  youth  and  full  of  ambition,  plead- 
ing with  his  father  and  mother  to  be  allowed  to  join  the 
holy  army  and  win  fame  by  setting  free  the  Holy  Places 
and  driving  out  the  Turks.  However,  his  virtuous  par- 
ents, mindful  of  the  heavenly  warning  given  before  his 
birth,  had  decided  to  lead  Norbert  into  God 's  sanctuary. 
Not  that  they  lacked  the  general  enthusiasm,  for  his 
illustrious  father,  the  Count,  died  a  Crusader  in  the 
Holy  Land.  His  younger  brother  Erbert,  in  a  later 
expedition,  is  said  to  have  lost  his  life  under  the  walls 
of  Tyre,  in  Palestine,6  but  Norbert  was,  in  their  opinion, 


e  Thus  the  Necrology  of  Xanten  and  Ploreffe. 


Norbert  at  the  Court  in  Cologne  7j 

destined  to  become  a  "Cleric."  Whether  or  not  his 
parents  had  selfish  motives  in  this  determination,  it  is  im- 
possible to  say.  Some  biographers  are  inclined  to  think 
they  had,  first  because  it  was  customary  in  those  days  to 
have  at  least  one  son  a  "Cleric;"  secondly,  on  account 
of  Norbert's  subsequent  behavior. 

Norbert  was  ordained  subdeacon  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Cologne,  his  Ordinary,  and  forthwith  appointed  to 
a  Canonry  in  the  Imperial  Church  at  Xanten.  It  was 
not  unusual  in  those  days  to  meet  canons  who  were  not 
yet  elevated  to  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood.  Many 
clerics  were  given  a  canonry  through  the  influence  of 
some  friend,  or  on  account  of  their  exalted  station  in 
life,  and  derived  rich  emoluments  from  it.  We  should 
not  forget  that  we  are  in  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth 
century,  when,  as  Cardinal  Newman  says:  "The  Chris- 
tian world  was  in  a  more  melancholy  state  than  it  ever 
had  been,  either  before  or  since."  Any  one  acquainted 
with  the  struggle  of  lay-investiture  will  readily  under- 
stand the  truth  of  this  statement. 

Norbert  did  not  remain  very  long  a  canon  at  Xanten. 
The  Archbishop,  hearing  of  his  natural  talents  and 
learning,  invited  him  to  come  to  live  at  his  Court  in 
Cologne.  Alas!  our  worldly-minded  Norbert,  blinded 
by  ambition,  obeyed  with  great  eagerness.  Soon  misled 
by  the  flattery  of  the  world,  he  allowed  himself  to  be 
entirely  carried  away  by  its  pleasures  and  allurements. 
He  forgot  the  lessons  of  his  pious  mother  and  the  ob- 
ligations of  his  state  in  life,  and  became  thoroughly 
worldly.  True,  he  was  living  at  the  Court  of  an  Arch- 
bishop, but  as  in  those  days  bishops  and  abbots  often 
filled  the  post  of  Chancellor  or  Ambassador  at  the 
various  courts,  so  also  worldly  chancellors  and  ambas- 


8  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

sadors  often  filled  episcopal  sees,  or  were  placed  at  the 
head  of  monasteries.  Consequently  a  worldly  spirit  pre- 
vailed even  at  the  court  of  many  a  Church  dignitary. 
In  regard  to  the  Court  of  Cologne  in  particular,  a 
panegyrist  of  Norbert  has  said  that  there  especially  the 
Church  and  the  world  made  their  display  successively. 

We  can  readily  understand  how  well  the  young  Count 
was  received  at  the  Court.  His  nobility,  his  learning 
and  graceful  bearing,  made  him  a  favorite  with  all, 
especially  when  he  showed  his  eagerness  to  join  in  their 
amusements.  Still,  to  do  him  justice,  we  feel  obliged  to 
add  here,  that  however  worldly  he  was,  Norbert  never 
gave  himself  over  to  the  sinful  excesses  of  those  days. 
Even  his  greatest  enemies,  who  after  his  conversion,  did 
all  in  their  power  to  counteract  his  influence,  never  ac- 
cused him  of  having  been  guilty  of  any  great  sin  or 
scandal.  On  the  other  hand,  we  cannot  deny  that  at 
this  time  Norbert 's  eyes  and  ears  were  open  only  for 
things  of  the  world,  that  he  was  ambitious  and  fond  of 
honors.  Says  the  author  of  the  Office  of  St.  Norbert: 

Yet  worldly  glory  wooed  thy  heart, 
And  thou,  of  noble  race,  didst  turn 

Away  from  thine  eternal  part 
To  seek  the  fair,  false  lights  that  burn 

In  royal  halls  of  earth.    ...  7 

Norbert  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  second  ecclesiastical 
preferment,  a  canonry  in  the  cathedral  of  Cologne, 
besides  other  benefices,  by  which  he  was  enabled  to  in- 
crease his  income.  But  growing  dissatisfied  at  the  court 


7  Hymn  at  Matins.    Cfr.  Manual  of  Third  Order  of  St.  Nor- 
bert, p.  66. 


Norbert's  First  Journey  to  Rome  9 

of  the  Archbishop,  he  did  all  in  his  power  to  enter  that 
of  the  Emperor,  to  whom  he  was  related  through  his 
father.  The  Emperor  was  Henry  V,  who  came  to  the 
throne,  Dec.  25,  1105,  having  forced  his  father  to  abdi- 
cate. Henry  was  a  bitter  opponent  of  Pope  Paschal  II. 
Nevertheless,  his  gay  court  tempted  our  young  canon, 
which  fact  alone  shows  sufficiently  how  far  Norbert  had 
drifted. 

Caesaris  hinc  juvenem  favor  alUcit,  inde  Voluptas, 

Addictum  studiis  dum  tenet  aula  suis.* 

By  what  intrigue  he  succeeded  we  do  not  know,  but 
very  soon  Norbert  was  installed  as  chaplain  and  al- 
moner of  the  Emperor  himself.  In  the  capacity  of  al- 
moner he  was  present  at  the  Imperial  Diets,  and  was 
one  of  the  immediate  councillors  of  His  Majesty.  Thus 
we  read  that  at  the  Diet  of  Ratisbon,  held  on  Epiphany 
day,  1110,  Norbert  spoke  in  the  name  of  the  King.  He 
did  this  with  such  eloquence  and  conviction,  that  he  was 
designated  by  the  votes  of  the  most  prominent  men  of 
the  kingdom,  to  accompany  the  Emperor  on  his  expedi- 
tion to  Rome;  truly  a  great  honor,  but  by  no  mieans  an 
enviable  one,  when  we  consider  the  Emperor's  mission. 

Pope  Paschal  II  had  refused  to  restore  to  Henry  the 
right  of  Investiture.  Henry  "7s  first  object,  therefore,  in 
going  to  Rome  was,  as  his  ambassadors  themselves  ex- 
pressed it,  to  decide  the  question  by  the  sword,  if  neces- 
sary. His  second  object  was  to  receive  the  Imperial 
Crown  from  the  hands  of  the  Pope.  Norbert 's  part  in 
this  woeful  expedition  was  to  assist  Henry  in  coming 
to  terms  with  the  Pope.  From  Florence,  where  the  Em- 


8  Royal  favor  and  luxury  attracted  the  youth  who  had  tasted 
court  life  at  the  palace  of  the  archbishop. 


10  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

peror  spent  Christmas,  that  year,  the  conditions  of  the 
Coronation  were  arranged  by  letter  as  follows : 

11  On  the  day  of  the  coronation,  Henry  shall  make  in 
"writing  a  renunciation  of  all  right  of  Investiture  of 
'  *  churches.  He  shall  pledge  himself  by  oath  to  the  Pope, 
"in  the  presence  of  the  clergy  and  people,  to  its  strict 
"observance.  He  shall  swear  to  leave  the  churches  in 
"the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  their  property.  He  shall 
"confirm  the  Holy  See  in  the  possession  of  its  estates 
"and  fiefs,  after  the  example  of  Charlemagne  and  other 
' '  predecessors.  On  these  conditions  the  Pope  will  crown 
"Henry  V  and  acknowledge  him  as  Emjperor.  He  will 
"assist  him  to  maintain  his  authority  in  Germany,  and 
"forbid  the  bishops  to  usurp  the  'regales,'  or  do  any- 
" thing  prejudicial  to  the  rights  of  the  prince."9 

We  have  reason  to  fear  that  when  these  terms 
were  duly  drawn  up  and  signed  by  both  parties,  Norbert 
prided  himself  on  his  successful  diplomacy,  not  knowing 
the  false  character  of  Henry.  At  first  everything 
pointed  to  real  success.  The  king  entered  Rome,  pre- 
ceded by  an  immense  multitude  of  people  bearing  green 
boughs,  palms  and  flowers.  However,  when  Henry  was 
required  to  sign  the  document,  he  proved  false,  and 
boldly  refused  to  give  up  the  right  of  Investiture.  It 
was  on  this  occasion  that  one  of  the  most  shocking  scenes 
related  in  history  took  place  within  the  very  walls  of 
St.  Peter's.  The  outcome  of  it  all  was  that  Henry  was 


9Cfr.  "General  History  of  the  Catholic  Church,"  by  J.  E. 
Darras,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  181.  The  same  author  also  observes  that 
what  is  here  meant  by  "regales"  are  the  temporal  rights  and 
fiefs,  which  flowed,  as  such  from  the  suzerainty  of  the  king. 


Pope  Paschal  II.  Yields  to  Henry  V.  11 

forced  to  flee  from  Home,  but  he  dragged  the  venerable 
Pontiff  along  as  his  prisoner,  and  for  two  months  the 
Pope  was  subjected  to  fearful  threats  and  cruel  treat- 
ment. 

Norbert,  now  realizing  the  baseness  of  the  king's  ac- 
tion, exerted  his  influence  to  obtain  the  release  of  the 
Pope  and  to  restore  peace  between  the  two  sovereigns, 
but  all  in  vain.  He  visited  the  Pope  in  prison,  consoled 
him  in  his  distress  and  appeared  greatly  shocked  at  the 
king's  violence  and  injustice.  He  is  also  said  to  have 
thrown  himfeelf  at  the  feet  of  the  august  prisoner  and 
implored  his  pardon.  That  this  incident  made  Norbert 
turn  seriously  into  himself,  we  know  from  his  subse- 
quent conduct.  As  yet,  however,  he  was  too  ambitious, 
too  much  of  a  courtier  to  listen  to  the  inner  voice  of  his 
conscience  and  forsake  the  unjust  cause  of  the  king  alto- 
gether; still  we  shall  presently  see  signs  of  an  inward 
struggle. 

History  informs  us  that,  overcome  by  the  entreaties 
of  many  bishops,  and  fearing  a  new  schism  in  the 
Church,  Pope  Paschal  II  at  last  yielded,  and  signed  a 
treaty  by  which  he  conceded  to  Henry  the  right  of  in- 
vesting bishops  by  ring  and  crozier.  On  his  return 
journey,  Henry  wanted  to  make  use  of  his  privilege  at 
once,  and  offered  the  Archbishopric  to  his  Chancellor, 
and  the  Bishopric  of  Cambray  to  his  chaplain  and 
almoner,  Norbert.  Strange  to  say,  Norbert  refused. 
The  king's  offer  was  tempting,  for  the  Bishopric 
of  Cambray  was  a  very  important  see  and  yielded  a 
large  revenue;  but  Norbert  had  changed.  Although  he 
lacked  the  courage  at  the  time  to  lead  the  life  of  an 
exemplary  cleric,  his  upright  character  had  been 
shocked  by  the  late  acts  of  the  king,  and  thus  at  the 


12  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

risk  of  losing  Henry's  favor,  he  declined  the  honor. 
Attached  to  honors  he  was,  but  nothing  could  ever  have 
induced  him  to  accept  the  ring  and  the  crozier  from  an 
excommunicated  layman.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
strange  that  even  after  this  event,  Norbert  does  not  en- 
tirely sever  his  connection  with  court-life.  True,  after 
returning  from  Italy,  he  left  the  Court  of  Henry,  but  re- 
turned to  that  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne.  He  had 
either  offended  the  king  by  declining  his  offer,  and  thus 
lost  his  favor,  or  perhaps  he  no  longer  dared,  even 
tacitly,  approve  of  his  perfidious  conduct.  At  any 
rate  the  change  did  not  affect  his  manner  of  living. 

But  lo! 

These  halls  are  trembling  'neath  the  power 

Of  Him  Who  stoops  to  thee,  to  show 
Thou  shalt  be  His.    Alas!  that  hour 

Thou  'rt  faltering  still.    The  voice  of  fame, 
Its  flattery,  in  thine  ear  is  sweet. 

(Office  of  St.  Norbert.) 

Norbert  plunged  into  society,  took  part  in  all  amuse- 
ments, and  seemed  to  be  leading  a  life  even  more 
worldly  than  before.  He  was  so  thoroughly  enslaved 
by  the  world  at  this  time,  that  nothing  short  of  a 
miracle  could  change  this  ambitious  Saul  into  a  second 
Paul. 


CHAPTER  II. 

NORBERTS   CONVERSION. 

Ardeat  ut  Superis  intus  mens  ardua  flammis, 
Corpus  salvifico  fulminis  igne  cadit. 

Lo!  the  lightning  flash  is  falling 

And  the  voice  that  will  not  cease 
Speaks  in  accents,  richly  calling: 
"Turn  to  Me  and  seek  for  peace." 

During  the  summer  of  the  year  1115,1  Norbert,  bent 
upon  pleasure,  was  oaa  his  way  to  a  village  called! 
Freden,  situated  a  few  miles  from  Xanten.  He  was 
riding  a  fiery  steed  richly  caparisoned ;  his  servant  rode 
at  his  side.  It  was  a  beautiful  summer  day,  and  his 
silk  cloak  and  costly  ornaments  glittered  in  the  bright 
sunshine  as  he  sped  through  the  rich  meadows.  Sud- 
denly the  heavens  darkened;  a  violent  wind  arose,  and 
the  next  moment  thunder  and  lightning  followed  each 
other  in  rapid  succession.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and 
unfortunately  the  nearest  place  of  shelter  was  a  good 
distance  away.  Norbert,  though  trembling  with  fear, 
insisted  on  continuing  his  journey.  His  servant,  how- 
ever, less  courageous,  stopped  and  exclaimed:  "Sir 
Norbert,  whither  art  thou  going?  Come  back,  for  the 
hand  of  God  is  against  thee ! ' '  Hardly  had  he  spoken 
these  words,  when  with  a  loud  clap  of  thunder,  a  flash 


i  According  to  Ch.  Louis  Hugo's  MS.  Hagiolog.  Ord.  Praem. 
Norbert's  conversion  took  place  on  May  28. 

13 


14  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

of  lightning  tore  up  the  earth  at  the  very  feet  of  Nor- 
bert's  horse.  The  horse  fell  and  threw  its  rider,  who 
lay  for  a  long  time  like  one  dead.  When  he  regained 
consciousness,  the  last  words  his  page  had  spoken,  "The 
hand  of  God  is  against  thee,''  were  still  ringing  in  his 
ears  and  were  to  him  like  a  message  from  heaven.  A 
most  vivid  picture  of  his  past  life  flashed  at  that  mo- 
ment before  his  mind.  Realizing  the  great  danger  he 
had  just  escaped,  and  thoroughly  frightened  at  the  con- 
dition of  his  soul,  Norbert  exclaimed  with  the  Apostle : 
"Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  that  I  do?"  At  the  same  mio- 
ment  a  voice  from  heaven  sounded  in  his  ear,  saying: 
1  i  Turn  away  from  evil  and  do  good ;  seek  after  peace  and 
pursue  it."!  This  was  the  turning  point  in  Norbert 's 
life.  Humbled  while  in  the  full  pursuit  of  pleasure,  he 
became  on  the  spot  a  sincere  penitent. 

Protinus  ad  sacras  Tyro  volat  impiger  aedes, 
Deserit  et  lu'bricum,  quod  male  trivit,  iter.s 

Norbert  returned  to  Xanten  and  forthwith  renounced 
all  his  appointments  at  Court.  He  locked  himself  in  a 
room  and  there,  prostrated  before  the  Crucifix,  shed  an 
abundance  of  tears.  This  same  room,  where  Norbert 
for  three  long  years  practiced  the  severest  penances  in 
expiation  for  his  sins,  is  still  pointed  out  to  the  visitor 
in  the  old  chapel  of  St.  Denis.  Every  year  numerous 
pilgrims  visit  the  place  around  which  for  eight  hundred 


2  Cfr.  Acta  SS.  T.  XX,  p.  802. 

s  At  once  the  Novice  turns  away  from  the  dangerous  road 
which  he  has  foolishly  been  treading,  and  flies  eagerly  to  the 
sanctuary. 


Norbert  in  Solitude  15 

years  the  most  authentic  souvenirs  of  our  Saint  have 
centered.4 

We  may  now  picture  Norbert  alone  with  God.  In 
solitude  he  began  to  realize  the  greatness  of  the  event 
which  a  few  hours  before  had  taken  place  on  the  road 
to  Freden;  and,  reflecting  on  the  consequences  of  his 
sudden  resolution  to  renounce  all  his  court  appoint- 
ments, happiness  filled  his  soul.  Oh !  how  sincerely  he 
must  have  thanked  God  for  sending  him  this  warning! 
The  gifts  which  God  so  lavishly  had  bestowed  upon 
him — his  talents  and  scholarly  education — his  constant 
dealings  with  the  great  men  of  the  age — all  had  predes- 
tined him  to  exercise  immense  influence.  Until  now  he 
had  served  only  the  world  and  offered  his  talents  to  the 
idol  of  vanity.  Almighty  God,  in  His  inscrutable  wis- 
dom, had  allowed  all  this  for  reasons  best  known  to  Him- 
self ;  but  now  His  hour  had  come. 

After  spending  days  and  nights  in  tears  and  prayers, 
asking  God  for  guidance  and  strength  in  his  good  reso- 
lutions, Norbert  calmly  began  to  make  plans  for  the 
future.  He  did  not,  as  many  of  us  would  expect,  lay 
aside  his  silks  and  costly  adornments ;  but  under  them  he 
began  to  wear  a  rough  garment  of  hair-cloth,  his  peni- 
tential garment,  as  he  called  it,  and  from  this  time 
never  passed  a  day  without  it.  His  reason  for  this  was, 
no  doubt,  that  he  might  still  be  able  to  associate  with  his 
former  companions  and  bring  them  also  back  to  God. 
This  will  become  more  clear  in  the  study  of  his  later 
life. 

The  sudden  conversion  of  Norbert  has  been  truly 
compared  by  all  his  biographers  to  the  conversion  of 

4  Cfr.  "Die  Victorskirche  zu  Xanten,"  s.  167. 


16  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Saul  of  Tarsus.  Certainly  no  one  can  fail  to  see  the 
striking  resemblance.  The  road  to  Freden  was  for  Nor- 
bert  what  the  road  to  Damascus  was  for  Saul.  The 
same  words  sounded  in  the  ears  of  both,  and  while  the 
Holy  Spirit  led  Saul  to  Ananias  for  further  instruction 
and  direction,  Norbert,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  was 
led  by  Providence  to  the  school  of  a  monk,  well-known 
for  deep  learning  and  piety. 

At  a  distance  of  about  five  miles  from  Cologne,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Ehine,  there  was  in  those  days  the 
celebrated  Benedictine  Abbey  of  Siburg,  founded  by  St. 
Annon,  in  1066.  Since  the  year  1105  it  had  been  under 
the  able  management  of  a  very  distinguished  and  saintly 
abbot,  by  the  name  of  Conon.  He  was  known  all  over 
Germany,  and  it  was  chiefly  through  his  personality 
that  the  abbey  was  considered  at  the  time  the  centre  of 
religious  life.  If  the  common  saying  be  true,  that 
a  saint  is  needed  to  form  another  saint,  Norbert,  in 
going  to  Abbot  Conon,  undoubtedly  went  to  the  right 
school.  The  very  first  thing  Norbert  did  upon  his  ar- 
rival, was  to  unburden  his  heart  by  a  sincere  and 
humble  confession.  Tears  flowed  freely  while  he  re- 
lated the  whole  story  of  his  former  life  to  his  spiritual 
father ;  but  the  good  and  wise  abbot  greatly  encouraged 
him,  and  spoke  to  him  of  the  mercy  of  God.  He  advised 
him  to  spend  some  time  in  complete  retirement  from  the 
world,  meditating  and  studying  the  Scriptures,  and 
meanwhile  praying  the  Almighty  with  all  confidence 
and  fervor  to  complete  in  him  the  good  work  He  had 
begun.  Norbert  followed  this  advice  to  the  letter.  He 
stayed  for  some  time  in  the  monastery,  and  although 
he  did  not  join  the  Benedictine  Order,  he  at  once  began 
to  lead  their  life  and  to  spend  his  days  in  solitude. 


Norbert  is  Tempted  17 

From  our  own  knowledge  of  human  nature  we  can 
easily  infer  how  great  was  Norbert  *s  struggle  in  this 
solitude.  The  chief  obstacle  to  the  carrying  out  of  a  good 
resolution  is  the  reaction,  which  almost  invariably  comes 
after  we  have  been  touched  by  extraordinary  graces. 
Satan  and  his  helpmates  did  their  very  best  to  make 
Norbert  change  his  good  resolutions  and  go  back  to  his 
former  gay  life.  Like  the  great  St.  Augustine,  he  was 
tempted  by  his  former  friends,  who  continually  tried 
to  hold  him  up  to  ridicule  and  scorn,  well  knowing  how 
deeply  his  proud  nature  had  always  resented  this.  It 
would  have  been  contrary  to  human  nature,  had  Nor- 
bert not  felt  these  attacks  keenly.  However,  he  stood  firm. 
Inexperienced  soldier  as  he  was  in  the  great  spiritual  bat- 
tle, he  went  with  all  his  temptations  and  difficulties  to  his 
commander,  Abbot  Conon,  asked  his  advice  and  fol- 
lowed his  directions.  As  often  as  he  went  to  the  abbot,  as 
Norbert  himself  later  testified,  peace  was  restored  to  his 
soul.  Days  and  weeks  and  months  he  passed,  apparently 
dead  to  the  world,  but  fighting  a  fierce  battle  with  his  for- 
mer self.  At  other  times  his  impetuous  nature  asserted 
itself;  he  then  would  hasten  to  Abbot  Conon  and  beg  to 
be  allowed  to  plunge  into  the  blind  world,  and  preach  by 
word  and  example,  the  vanity  of  earthly  things.  But 
the  wise  abbot  checked  his  ardor  and  taught  him  how 
to  control  this  impetuosity  by  studying  the  conduct  of 
our  Blessed  Redeemer.  He  made  clear  to  Norbert  that 
his  hour  had  not  yet  come,  but  that  it  would  be  plainly 
revealed  to  him  in  God 's  appointed  time.  Thus  did  our 
Saint  make  great  progress  in  self-denial  and  self-mas- 
tery under  the  prudent  guidance  of  his  spiritual  father. 

Meanwhile  the  time  was  drawing  near  when  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Cologne  was  accustomed  to  hold  his  ordina- 


18  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

tions.  We  know  that  the  Saint  had  long  since  been  or- 
dained subdeacon.  He  had  refused  to  receive  the 
higher  orders  that  he  might  with  more  freedom  lead  a 
worldly  life.  Norbert,  now  realizing  the  greatness  of  the 
scandal  he  had  thus  given,  was  most  anxious  to  make  due 
reparation.  "When  he  spoke  to  Abbot  Conon  to  this 
effect,  he  found  to  his  great  delight  that  the  abbot  also 
advised  him  to  present  himself  for  Orders.  After  some 
deliberation  it  was  decided  that  Norbert  should  go  in 
person  to  the  Archbishop  and  request  him,  not  only 
to  admit  him  among  the  candidates  for  Holy  Orders, 
but  also  to  allow  him  to  receive  Deaconship  and  the 
Holy  Priesthood  on  one  and  the  same  day.  Thus  we 
find  Norbert  after  his  long  retreat,  his  soul  filled  with  a 
heavenly  joy,  once  more  in  the  palace  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Cologne  with  an  unexpected  request. 

Imagine  the  surprise  of  the  Archbishop  when  made 
acquainted  with  the  request  of  his  former  courtier.  In- 
formed of  the  great  change  which  had  taken  place  in 
Norbert,  he  called  him  into  his  presence  and  said :  { l  In- 
deed, you  greatly  surprise  me,  so  often  have  you  refused 
Holy  Orders  when  offered  to  you  even  by  learned  and 
virtuous  men."  Norbert  felt  the  truth  of  the  rebuke, 
and  when  pressed  to  account  for  the  change  in  him, 
wished  to  tell  all,  but  tears  choked  his  voice.  Unable 
to  speak,  he  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  Archbishop, 
and  begged  him  to  forgive  him  his  past  life.  This  so 
touched  His  Grace,  that  he  said:  "Who  am  I,  that  I 
should  dare  to  keep  the  gates  of  God's  Sanctuary  closed 
against  you  ? ' ' 

Enter  now,  pious  reader,  the  vast  and  venerable 
Cathedral  of  Cologne,  dedicated  to  the  Prince  of  the 
A.postles ;  it  is  the  hour  of  the  inspiring  ceremony  of  sol- 


Norbert 's  Ordination  to  the  Priesthood  19 

emn  ordination.  The  church  is  richly  decorated ;  the  Or- 
dinandi,  carrying  their  sacred  vestments,  are  taking  their 
places  in  the  sanctuary,  and  an  immense  crowd  fills  the 
spacious  cathedral.  Many,  no  doubt,  have  come,  led  by 
devotion,  but  a  large  number  also  are  there  through  mere 
curiosity.  Norbert  is  to  be  ordained !  Norbert,  the  son  of 
the  Count  of  Gennep ;  Norbert,  the  well-known,  gay  cour- 
tier !  This  rumor  has  spread  through  the  city  of  Cologne 
and  all  who  knew  him  had  come  to  verify  for  themselves 
this  incredible  report.  Note  their  disappointment  as  they 
vainly  scrutinize  the  Ordinandi,  for  Norbert  is  noij 
among  them.  They  are  questioning  the  truth  of  the 
report,  and  even  giving  expression  to  their  doubts,  when 
down  the  center  aisle  moves  a  stately  figure,  clad  in  silk, 
costly  adorned  with  gold  and  jewels.  It  is  Norbert  in 
a/11  his  former  glory.  All  heads  are  turned — all  eyes 
are  fixed  on  him.  What  does  it  all  mean,  they  ask? 
Is  he  returning  to  his  former  gay  life  ?  Verily  no !  The 
break  between  himself  and  the  world  is  to  be  completed, 
and  the  vast  crowd  is  to  witness  it  and  to  be  convinced 
of  his  sincerity.  As  the  sacristan  offers  him  the  sacred 
vestments,  Norbert  calls  one  of  his  servants  who  is  near  at 
hand.  At  last  he  thinks  his  hour  is  come — the  hour  in 
which  he  may  repair,  at  least  in  part,  the  scandal  he  has 
given,  and  show  his  former  friends  how  deeply  he  is  in 
earnest.  He  wills  to  impress  most  vividly  upon  their 
minds  that  he  is  no  longer  the  Norbert  they  have  known 
— no  longer  the  gay  courtier  and  slave  of  the  world,  but 
the  humble  penitent  of  Jesus  Christ  renouncing  the 
world  and  its  pomp.  Before  the  eyes  of  this  vast  multi- 
tude, he  casts  his  princely  garments  on  the  floor,  and 
replaces  them  by  a  penitential  robe  of  sheepskin,  tied 
around  the  waist  with  a  rough  cord.  Then  putting  the 


20  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

liturgical  vestments  over  this  simple  tunic,  he  goes  to  the 
altar  and  presents  himself  for  Ordination.5 

Thy  robes  of  princely  state  are  spurned; 

The  court,  its  pomps,  its  gilded  strife, 

Are  thine  no  more,  for  higher  love 

Has  fortified  thy  glowing  heart.    .    .    . 

(Office  of  St.  Norbert.) 

The  crowd,  breathless,  especially  those  who  were  ignor- 
ant of  the  happenings  on  the  road  to  Freden,  could  not 
believe  their  own  eyes.  "Who  would  ever  have  thought 
it  ? "  they  said,  ' l  this  is  truly  a  miracle ! ' '  Meanwhile,  in 
the  sanctuary,  the  Holy  Ceremony  was  proceeding.  ' ' Re- 
ceive the  power  to  consecrate  the  Body  and  Blood  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  was  at  last  spoken  to  Norbert, 
and  God  alone  knows  the  feelings  which  at  that  moment 
animated  his  noble  soul,  unworthy  as  he  considered  him- 
self, to  become  the  minister  of  God — a  priest  of  the 
Most  High.  .  .  . !  His  sentiments  on  this  sacred  oc- 
casion are  expressed,  however  imperfectly,  in  these  his 
own  words: 

' '  0  Sacerdos !  tu  non  es  tu,  quia  Deus  es ;  tu  non 
"es  tui,  quia  servus  et  minister  Christi;  tu  non  es 
"tuus,  quia  sponsus  Ecclesiae;  tu  non  es  tibi,  quia 
"mediator  Dei  et  hominum;  tu  non  es  de  te,  quia 
"nihil  es.  Tu  quis  ergo,  0  Sacerdos?  nihil  et  omnia. 
"0  Sacerdos  cave  ne  tibi,  quod  Christo  patienti, 
"dicatur:  Alios  salvos  fecit,  seipsum  non  potest 
"salvum  facere." 

s  Pellibus  agninis  gemmis  auroque  nitentem 

Permutat  populo  Mysta  stupente  togam. 

In  the  third  chapter  of  the  Vita  B  we  read :  "Notus,  ut  puta- 
batur,  omnibus;  sed  ignotus,  ut  rei  veritas  se  habebat,  univer- 
sis  .  .  .  innuit  sibi  praesentari  pelliceum  agninum  .  .  .  viden- 
tibus  universis  consortibus  .  .  .  pristinae  levitatis  .  .  etc. 


The  Dignity  of  the  Priesthood  21 

"0  Priest!  thou  art  not  thyself,  because  thou  art 
"God;  thou  art  not  of  thyself,  because  thou  art  the 
' '  servant  and  minister  of  Christ ;  thou  art  not  thine  own, 
"because  thou  art  the  spouse  of  the  Church;  thou  art 
' '  not  for  thyself,  because  thou  art  the  mediator  between 
' '  God  and  man ;  thou  art  not  from  thyself,  because  thou 
1 '  art  nothing.  What  then  art  thou,  0  Priest  ?  Nothing 
"and  everything.  0  Priest!  take  care  lest  what  was 
"said  to  Christ  on  the  Cross  be  said  to  thee:  He  saved 
' '  others,  himself  he  cannot  save. ' ' 

In  vain  did  the  eager  crowd  look  for  Norbert  when  the 
solemn  services  were  concluded.  He  had  secretly  left 
the  cathedral  and  returned  in  haste  to  his  spiritual 
father.  In  the  monastery  of  Siburg,  under  the  direction 
of  the  abbot,  he  at  once  began  a  retreat  of  forty  days, 
fasting  on  bread  and  water,  in  order  to  prepare  himself 
for  a  worthy  exercise  of  his  sacred  calling.  His  time 
he  divided  between  meditation  and  a  study  of  the  duties 
of  the  sacred  ministry.  It  was  his  good  fortune  at  this 
particular  time  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  Abbot  Ru- 
pert, a  saintly  man,  and  the  learned  author  of  a  beauti- 
ful book  on  the  ceremonial  of  the  Mass.  It  was  largely 
through  his  influence  that  our  Saint  conceived  so  pro- 
found a  respect  for  the  adorable  Sacrifice,  and  that  later 
he  became  a  real  champion  of  the  august  Sacrament  of 
the  Altar.  Henceforth,  love  for  the  Holy  Eucharist 
and  a  burning  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls  were  his 
characteristic  virtues. 

After  his  forty  days'  retreat  Norbert  returned  to 
Xanten,  his  native  town,  and  again  took  his  place 
among  the  Canons.  "With  deep  humility  and  devotion  he 
joined  in  the  recital  of  the  divine  Office  and  evinced 
great  fervor  in  his  efforts  to  serve  God  as  perfectly  as 


22  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

possible.  The  day  after  his  arrival  the  members  of  the 
Chapter  offered  him  the  privilege  of  celebrating  a  Solemn 
High  Mass  on  the  following  day,  for  it  was  customary 
thus  to  honor  newly-ordained  priests.  Norbert  gladly 
accepted  the  favor.  ."0  day,  forever  memorable  in  the 
annals  of  religion!"  exclaims  one  of  the  Saint's  pane- 
gyrists. ' '  Overcome  by  a  holy  enthusiasm,  Norbert  sus- 
'  'peiided  the  sacred  function  and,  burning  with  love  for 
"souls,  mounted  the  pulpit  and  delivered  a  most  power- 
1 '  f ul  discourse  on  the  fleeting  pleasures  of  the  world  and 
"the  emptiness  of  its  honors  and  promises.  "With  an 
"eloquence  which  foreshadowed  the  future  great  orator 
"he  warned  his  vast  audience  of  the  dangers  of  a  worldly 
"life,  and  urged  them  to  reform,  pointing  to  his  own 
"life  as  an  example."6 

Norbert  shared  the  zeal  of  all  the  Saints  of  his  period 
for  reform  among  clerics  as  well  as  among  laymen.  On 
the  very  next  day  he  spoke  to  the  Canons  assembled  in 
the  chapter-house,  of  their  lack  of  discipline.  Holding 
in  his  hands  the  Rules  of  the  Fathers,  promulgated  by 
the  Council  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  816,  for  secular  canons, 
he  urged  so  fearlessly  and  forcefully  the  necessity  of  re- 
forming their  lives,  that  many  of  the  older  canons  were 
deeply  moved,  and  looked  upon  Norbert  as  one  sent  by 
heaven  to  restore  discipline.  But  the  younger  canons, 
more  attached  to  the  pleasures  of  the  world,  became  so 
exasperated  on  being  rebuked,  and  especially  by  one 
like  Norbert,  that,  not  being  able  to  bear  his  remon- 
strances nor  to  silence  him,  some  left  the  chapter-house 
while  others  became  most  insulting.  Instigated  by  the 


e  Migne  T.  LIII,  p.  347.    Panegyric  of  St.  Norbert,  preached 
in  Paris  on  the  llth  and  the  17th  of  July,  1763. 


Norbert's  Zeal  for  Reform  23 

latter,  a  young  cleric  of  low  birth  even  spat  in  his  face.7 
Norbert,  however,  excused  him,  and  forgave  him  at  once, 
thanking  God  for  this  occasion  of  doing  penance  for  his 
sins.  In  this  manner  did  God  prepare  His  servant  for 
his  life-work,  namely,  the  betterment  of  the  people  by 
the  reformation  of  the  clergy.  Henceforth  this  is  to  be 
his  constant  aim  as  Missionary — as  Founder  of  a  new 
Religious  Order — and  especially  as  Archbishop  of 
Magdeburg. 


7  Cfr.  Vita  A,  Ch.  II. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    PENITENT. 

Argenti  vilescit  honos,  nimiumque  cupitas 
Prodiga  Norberti  dextera  spargit  opes. 

Despising  worldly  goods,  Norbert  with  a  lavish  hand 
bestows  all  he  has  upon  the  poor. 

The  three  years  following  his  ordination  were  for  the 
greater  part  spent  in  solitude  on  a  high  mountain,  called 
' '  Fiirstenberg, "  near  Xanten.  They  are  termed  the  for- 
mation-period of  his  religious  life.  As  the  shining 
marble  of  Paros  and  Carrara,  the  same  in  substance  as 
common  limestone,  is  fashioned  in  secret  by  the  wonder- 
working hand  of  nature;  as  the  sparkling  diamond, 
identical  in  composition  with  charcoal,  receives  its  mar- 
velous crystalline  structure  in  nature's  own  secret  lab- 
oratory— so  has  it  often  pleased  God,  to  form  the  saint 
from  the  sinner  under  His  divine  action  in  solitude,  by 
prayer  and  meditation. 

There  was  a  little  chapel  on  the  Fiirstenberg,  which 
had  long  been  entirely  deserted.  This  Norbert  arranged 
for  his  new  dwelling.  Here  he  mortified  his  body  by 
fasting  and  discipline;  here  he  offered  daily  the  Holy 
Sacrifice,  and  spent  most  of  his  nights  as  well  as  days 
in  prayer. 

.    .    .    Then  with  fasts, 
With  scourges,  and  with  iron  chain, 

Thou  'It  seek  to  expiate  the  past, 
And  heal,  with  care,  the  former  pain 
Thy  pride  inflicted.    .    .    . 

Occasionally  he  would  come  down  from  his  Thabor  to 
preach  to  the  people  or  to  visit  the  Abbot  of  Siburg, 

24 


Norbert  Meets  with  Opposition  25 

who  still  continued  to  be  his  spiritual  adviser.  He  had 
now  become  accustomed  to  rely  on  Abbot  Conon  for 
spiritual  direction,  and  in  the  many  trials  sent  by  God 
at  this  time  to  arm  him  for  the  future  battle,  the  abbot 's 
help  was  indispensable  to  Norbert. 

One  of  his  greatest  trials  at  this  period  must  have 
been  his  inability  to  preach  to  the  people  in  the  church 
at  Xanten.  We  are  informed  that  on  one  occasion  when 
Norbert  was  on  his  way  to  Siburg  and  wished  to  deliver 
a  sermon  to  the  people  of  Xanten,  he  was  actually  driven 
from  the  church  by  his  former  colleagues.  Like  all  re- 
formers, he  was  disliked  by  most  of  the  canons,  and  even 
hated  by  some.  At  their  instigation  the  enemies  of 
Norbert,  all  former  friends,  had  formed  a  party,  a  clique 
we  might  say,  whose  only  object  was  to  oppose  and  per- 
secute in  every  way  the  innovator,  as  Norbert  was  called 
by  them.  However,  though  they  prevented  him  from 
speaking  to  the  people,  he  nevertheless  continued  fear- 
lessly to  address  the  canons  themselves  at  every  oppor- 
tunity, in  private  as  well  as  in  public.  Needless  to  say 
that  he  thus  found  numerous  occasions  for  the  practice 
of  many  virtues.  When,  for  instance,  they  reproached 
him,  calling  him  a  newcomer,  a  convert  of  a  day.  .  .  . 
etc.,  he  found  therein  a  reason  for  increasing  his  spirit- 
ual and  penitential  exercises,  hoping  by  these  means 
and  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  become  a  trained  soldier  in 
God's  army  in  a  short  time.  He  was  persuaded  that  his 
constant  example  and  unwavering  virtue  would  be  more 
convincing  than  his  preaching.  Virtue,  in  fact,  always 
triumphs  even  where  the  most  powerful  and  eloquent 
sermons  have  miserably  failed. 

With  this  end  in  view  he  began  to  walk  about  bare- 
footed, even  in  the  midst  of  winter,  wearing  only 


26  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

his  sheepskin  tunic  and  penitential  cape.  In  accordance 
with  the  strictest  observance  of  earlier  Christianity,  he 
also  began  to  observe,  the  whole  year  around,  the  fast 
and  abstinence  of  the  Lenten  season.  Except  on  Sun- 
days, he  took  no  meal  till  evening,  and  by  his  austerity 
became  another  St.  '  John  the  Baptist.  His  daily  life 
became  a  most  powerful  and  continual  sermon,  which 
no  one  was  able  to  prevent,  and  which,  Norbert  reasoned, 
was  bound  to  succeed.  But  human  nature  is  ever  the 
same,  and  to  see  a  man  strictly  perform  duties  in  which 
we  ourselves  fail,  is  for  us  a  constant  rebuke.  Soon, 
through  real  spite,  did  the  enemies  of  Norbert  look  for 
an  occasion  to  take  their  revenge. 

But  let  us  turn  from  them  for  the  moment  to  follow 
Norbert  on  one  of  his  excursions  to  Abbot  Conon  of 
Siburg.  The  monks  of  this  abbey  were  very  strict  in  the 
observance  of  their  rule,  and  Norbert  loved  to  listen  to 
their  singing  the  divine  praises.  He  often  joined  them 
in  their  diligent  study  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  made 
great  progress  in  the  knowledge  of  God's  "Word.  But 
his  greatest  attraction  was  the  abbot,  whose  exemplary 
life  always  stimulated  him  to  persevere  in  his  good  reso- 
lutions. To  spend  some  time  in  his  presence,  and  to  be 
able  to  see  him  and  to  converse  with  him,  worked  like  an 
inspiration  on  our  Saint.  After  these  visits,  as  he  him- 
self later  testified,  long  fasts  and  severe  discipline  lost 
even  their  natural  repugnance,  and  the  nights  spent  in 
prayer  were  full  of  heavenly  consolation. 

.    .    .    for  higher  love 
Has  fortified  thy  glowing  heart, 

And,  barefoot,  through  the  snow  thou  'It  move 
As  one  all  heedless  of  the  smart 

Of  scorn  and  insult. 


Norbert  at  Rolduc  27 

His  returns  to  the  abbey  were  therefore  quite  fre- 
quent. Another  pious  diversion  in  his  solitude  was  his 
frequenting  a  grotto  near  Rolduc,  which  he  visited  on  his 
way  to  the  Canons  Regular  of  that  place.  He  often  spent 
some  time  in  the  abbey,  where  the  clerics  were  still  in 
their  first  fervor.  The  abbey  had  been  founded  in  1104 
by  St.  Ailbert,  of  noble  birth,  who  had  for  some  time 
been  connected  with  the  cathedral  chapter  of  Tournay,  in 
Belgium.  After  his  ordination,  being  anxious  to  lead  a 
more  perfect  life,  he  had  come  to  this  place  and  founded 
a  monastery.  He,  like  Norbert,  also  went  barefooted, 
and  with  his  companions  led  a  strictly  apostolic  life 
according  to  the  rules  of  St.  Augustine.  These  two 
Saints,  in  fact,  became  very  much  attached  to  each 
other,  and  as  we  shall  see  later,  Norbert  took  St.  Ail- 
bert's  abbey  as  a  model,  in  founding  his  order. 

Norbert  loved  especially  to  offer  the  Holy  Sacrifice  in 
the  above-mentioned  grotto.  One  day,  at  the  moment 
of  the  Consecration  of  the  Chalice,  a  large  spider  fell 
into  the  Precious  Blood.  In  those  days  spiders  were 
generally  considered  poisonous,  as,  In  fact,  the  old  Eng- 
lish name :  attercope,  attyrcoppe,  literally  poison-cup, 
still  indicates.  The  Saint  knew  perfectly  well  what  the 
rubrics  of  the  Mass  allow  on  such  occasions,  but  his  biog- 
raphers explain,  such  was  his  reverence  for  the  Precious 
Blood,  that  at  the  time  of  the  Communion,  resigned  to 
die  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  he  consumed  the  Precious 
Blood  containing  the  venomous  insect.  But  God  Who 
watched  over  his  servant,  rewarded  his  lively  faith  by 
instantly  relieving  him  of  the  dangerous  insect.  "This 
fact,"  adds  the  contemporary  author  of  the  Life  of  St. 
Norbert,  "shows  how  lively  was  his  faith  and  how  great 
God's  goodness  towards  him.'7  "Two  special  virtues/7 


28  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

continues  this  same  biographer,  "were  necessary  to  en- 
able him  to  do  the  work  for  which  God  had  destined  him : 
patience  and  faith.  Patience  served  as  a  shield,  lest  be- 
ing unarmed  he  should  yield ;  faith,  for  strength,  lest  be- 
ing too  weak,  he  should  fail. ' ?1  Doubtless  at  this  time, 
he  was  endowed  with  other  virtues,  but  faith  was  his 
characteristic  virtue;  by  it  he  wrought  many  miracles, 
and  it  animated  all  he  did.  It  was  a  common  saying  that 
faith  excelled  in  Norbert,  charity  in  Bernard  and  hu- 
mility in  Milo,  Bishop  of  Therouanne  and  a  disciple  of 
Norbert2 

We  now  return  to  our  Saint  in  the  period  of  his 
spiritual  formation.  How  admirably  does  divine  Provi- 
dence guide  the  future  Founder  of  a  religious  Order! 
Thus  far  God  has  led  him  through  the  canonical  life  at 
Xanten — has  made  him  acquainted  with  monasticism 
in  the  monastery  of  Abbot  Conon — has  directed  him  to 
St.  Ailbert,  who  with  his  disciples  was  leading  the  life 
of  the  Apostles,  and  lastly,  that  Norbert  might  know 
the  eremitical  life,  He  leads  him  to  the  hermit  Ludolph, 
a  man  of  great  sanctity  and  extreme  austerity,  who  lived 
at  Bedburg.  Ludolph 's  object  in  life  also  was  to  reform 
the  people  by  first  reforming  the  clergy,  and  so,  like 
Norbert,  he  must  bear  insults  and  injuries.  We  are  not 
surprised  to  learn  that  Norbert  and  Ludolph  became 
sincere  friends,  for  like  aim$  invariably  draw  souls 
close  together. 

There  is  surely  no  ground  for  the  supposition  that 

1  Cfr.  Vita  B.  Ch.  VI.    Also  Hugo,  "Histoire  de  St.  Norbert," 
p.  23,  who  quotes  a  manuscript  history  of  the  abbey  of  Klos- 
ter-Rath. 

2  Ibidem. 


SANCTVS    NORBER.TVS 

i'  Preenumftra-tcitfium.  Cawjucorum  Oriims 
tcsutnatrus  •  et  Parens ,  jlittan 

^4" "*' 


Engraving  by  Theodore  Gallus  (1622). 

BY  FAITH  AND  PATIENCE. 


Canonical  Life  in  the  Eleventh  Century  29 

Norbert  had  at  this  time  the  faintest  idea  of  founding 
a  religious  Order.  Still,  since  his  aim  was  "reform," 
he,  being  a  Canon,  must  have  felt  himself  drawn  into 
the  reform  of  canonical  life,  which  at  that  time  was  tak- 
ing place.  History  informs  us  that  about  the  eleventh 
century  canonical  life  was  given  up  by  the  clergy  in 
many  churches,  and  thus  we  read  of  the  distinction 
which  henceforth  was  made  between  those  clerics  who 
lived  by  themselves  in  separate  houses  and  others  who 
still  adhered  to  the  old  discipline.  The  former  were 
called  "Canonici  saeculares,"  the  latter  "  Canonic! 
regulares,"  and  these  names  have  ever  since  distin- 
guished them.  We  shall  refer  to  this  again  in  the  sec- 
ond volume. 

When  we  accompanied  Norbert  on  his  visits  to  Siburg 
and  Rolduc,  or  found  him  in  company  with  Ludolph,  we 
saw  him  constantly  exposed 'to  the  vilest  abuse  by  his 
former  colleagues  of  Xanten.  His  strict  fasts  and  long 
vigils  had  emaciated  his  body,  and  the  study  of  the  lives 
of  saints  added  to  constant  prayer  and  meditation,  had 
so  spiritualized  our  Saint,  that  his  mere  appearance 
among  his  former  friends  was  now  a  sufficient  excuse 
for  a  new  outbreak.  It  must  be  remarked,  however,  that 
they  never  reproached  his  former  life.  Worldly 
Norbert  had  been,  but  no  one  ever  accused  him 
of  having  led  a  scandalous  life.  What  mostly  roused 
his  opponents  was  the  fact  that  Norbert,  only  a  short 
time  before  one  with  them,  was  now  trying  to  be  their 
reformer.  They  refused  to  believe  that  his  conversion 
was  sincere,  notwithstanding  the  numerous  proofs  he 
constantly  gave  of  his  sincerity.  Also  his  success  in 
preaching  made  him  a  number  of  enemies.  Norbert,  as 
we  know,  was  very  anxious  to  preach.  He  lost  no  oppor- 


30  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

lunity  of  ascending  the  pulpit,  where  he  spoke  with 
real  eloquence.  He  was  considered  one  of  the  most  elo- 
quent speakers  of  his  day,  and  immense  crowds  gathered 
to  listen  to  him.  How. much  good  he  effected  by  his 
preaching  we  know  from  the  Annals  of  those  days,  espe- 
cially of  the  year  1117,  when  one  calamity  succeeded  an- 
other, so  that  the  end  of  the  world  was  generally 
thought  to  be  at  hand.  "The  most  learned  men  of  the 
time,"  thus  says  Baronius  in  his  Annals,  "looked  upon 
the  enormities  of  sin  and  the  calamities  of  the  age  as 
signs  of  the  coming  of  the  Antichrist  and  the  end  of  the 
world."3 

Norbert 's  success  in  preaching,  added  to  his  austere 
life,  at  last  led  his  enemies,  no  longer  satisfied  with  ill- 
usage,  to  discredit  him  in  the  eyes  of  his  ecclesiastical 
superiors.  The  clique  which  had  been  formed  some  time 
previous,  now  began  to  work  in  earnest  and  systematic- 
ally, trying  to  find  evidence  against  him.  Well  may  one 
of  the  early  historians  compare  their  work  to  a  coming 
thunderstorm,  when  small  and  insignificant  clouds  are 
gathering  together  to  darken  a  clear  sky.  The  mo- 
ment was  near  at  hand  when  their  petty  accusations, 
heaped  together,  were  to  burst  forth  like  the  thunder 
and  lightning  of  a  heavy  storm. 

Apparently  unconscious  of  what  was  going  on  around 
him,  Norbert  kept  up  his  good  work,  preaching  by  word 
and  example  and  bringing  a  number  of  sinners  back  to 
God.  The  Annals  of  Cleves  give  us  an  interesting  de- 
tail of  his  missionary  zeal  at  this  very  time.  At  Lunen, 


s  That  Norbert  shared  this  belief  we  know  from  one  of  the 
letters  of  St.  Bernard.  Cfr.  Letter  LVI,  sent  to  Geoffrey, 
Bishop  of  Chartres.  See  also  later,  Second  Period,  Chap- 
ter X. 


Brought  Before  the  Council  of  Fritzlar  31 

in  Westphalia,  there  still  existed  a  remnant  of  the  old 
Saxon  paganism,  in  the  form  of  an  idol  dedicated  to 
Venus,  the  evening  star,  and  venerated  by  the  inhabit- 
ants. In  his  holy  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  Norbert  not  only 
broke  this  idol,  but  even  succeeded  in  having  a  church, 
dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  built  in  its  place.4 

At  last  the  storm  broke.  On  July  26th,  in  the  year 
1118,  Cuno,  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Preneste  and  Legate 
of  Pope  Gelasius  II,  had  assembled  an  important  Na- 
tional Council  at  Fritzlar  in  Lower-Hesse.  The  object 
of  this  Council  was  to  find  means  to  maintain  the  Pope 's 
authority  in  Germany,  where  it  was  threatened  by  Henry 
V  and  his  antipope,  Maurice  Bourdin.  Present  at  the 
Council  were  a  great  number  of  archbishops  and  bishops, 
abbots  and  priests,  also  many  of  the  most  prominent 
laymen.  Norbert 's  enemies  considered  this  a  fine  op- 
portunity for  taking  their  long-planned  revenge. 
Led  by  the  Canons  of  Xanten,  they  appeared  at  Fritz- 
lar and  demanded  that  the  Council  should  begin 
proceedings  against  the  fanaticism  of  Norbert.  The 
Council  gave  them  a  hearing ;  and,  after  considering  the 
matter,  judged  it  wise  to  have  Norbert  appear  before 
them  in  person.  His  enemies  lost  no  time  in  bringing 
him  before  this  tribunal.5 

Norbert,  known  to  nearly  all  present  as  the  gay  cour- 
tier, the  former  chaplain  of  Henry,  whose  doings  are 
being  condemned,  now  stands  before  this  distinguished 
assembly ;  he  is  accused  of  being  a  religious  fanatic.  His 
features  are  completely  changed — his  body,  emaciated 
from  fasting  and  discipline,  is  wrapped  in  a  penitential 

*  Annales  Cliviae,  p.  217. 
s  Cfr.  Vita  B,  Ch.  VIII. 


32  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

robe  of  sheepskin.  Calm  and  dignified,  he  faces  his  ac- 
cusers, who  are  shouting  at  him — calling  him  a  hypocrite 
— one  who  cloaks  evil  designs  under  the  pretext  of  reli- 
gious zeal,  etc.  .  .  .  The  Council  asks  for  clear  and  de- 
tailed accusations.  Ah !  they  have  plenty,  everything  is 
ready.  Their  first  reproach  is  for  having  taken  unto 
himself  the  function  of  preaching.  Who,  they  ask, 
has  charged  him  with  this  mission?  Secondly,  they  ac- 
cuse him  of  attacking,  in  his  sermons,  the  lives  of  clergy- 
men, and  even  of  prelates.  Is  he  their  ecclesiastical 
superior  ?  Furthermore,  why  should  he  live  like  a  monk 
since  he  is  not  a  member  of  a  religious  Order?  Why 
has  he  put  aside  the  traditional  habit  of  the  Canons, 
and  clothed  himself  in  sheepskin? 

The  Saint,  remembering  his  past  sins,  confessed  that 
he  deserved  all  manner  of  contempt  and  ill-treatment, 
and  rejoiced  at  injuries  and  afflictions.  Nevertheless, 
reflecting  on  what  he  owed  to  God's  honor,  he  cleared 
himself  of  all  their  calumnies  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  the  judges.6  Certainly,  he  might  easily  have  been 
their  -accuser,  and  charged  them  not  only  with  the  neg- 
lect of  their  sacred  duties,  but  with  grievous  interference 
in  the  apostolic  labors  of  a  zealous  priest.  But  Norbert 
no  longer  knew  of  any  revenge  but  the  revenge  of  the 
Saints,  namely  to  suffer  and  to  forgive.  Jesus,  his  Mas- 
ter, had  also  been  falsely  accused,  ill-treated  and  even 
crucified,  and  he  was  trying  to  resemble  that  divine  Mas- 
ter as  closely  as  possible.  "Calumny,"  he  later  repeat- 
edly told  his  followers,  ' '  is  the  test  of  a  patient  and  gen- 

e  It  is  expressly  stated  in  the  Acta  SS.  and  also  by  Winter, 
Chron.  Gratiae  Dei,  p.  327,  that  Norbert  had  received  from  his 
bishop  proper  jurisdiction  to  preach. 


Norbert  Leaves  His  Native  Country  33 

erous  heart,  which  bears  with  it  rather  than  to  give  up 
working  for  God. ' ' 

At  the  close  of  this  trial,  we  find  that  the  most  eminent 
men  of  the  Council  greatly  admired  Norbert.  The  Arch- 
bishops of  Cologne,  of  Mainz,  of  Munich,  and  even  the 
Legate  himself,  did  not  fail  to  see  that  the  underlying 
cause  of  all  these  various  accusations  was  the  sting  of 
rebuke  caused  by  Norbert 's  virtuous  life,  and  his  zeal 
for  bringing  about  a  much-needed  reform  among  the 
clergy.  The  Legate  therefore  advised  Norbert  to  present 
himself  to  the  Holy  Father  and  ask  for  general  jurisdic- 
tion, in  other  words,  permission  to  preach  everywhere. 
That  the  Saint  had  privately  spoken  with  the  Legate 
after  the  Council,  seems  very  probable  from  his  subse- 
quent conduct.  From  that  time  on  Norbert  put  away 
his  sheepskin  and  began  to  wear  a  woolen  cassock.  In 
this  he  is  said  to  have  acted  on  the  advice  of  the  Legate. 
Later  we  shall  find  Norbert  introducing  into  his  Order, 
customs  which  up  to  that  time  were  new  to  Canons,  ex- 
cepting those  whom  Cuno  had  helped  to  found.7 

Leaving  Fritzlar,  Norbert  again  returned  to  Xanten, 
but  he  was  not  to  remain  there  long.  Persecuted  on  all 
sides,  and  misunderstood  by  those  for  whose  conversion 
he  had  sacrificed  his  life,  the  Saint  sought  his  consola- 
tion at  the  foot  of  the  Cross.  There,  after  some  days 
and  nights  alone  with  God,  we  find  him  taking  a  most 
unexpected  resolution.  He  decides  to  leave  his  native 
country.  Since  the  day  of  his  ordination,  he  had  done 
all  in  his  power  to  change  the  conduct  of  clergy  and 
people,  but  without  great  results.  He  fully  realized  that 
no  prophet  is  acceptable  in  his  own  country.  Instead  of 


7  Cfr.  Bollandists,  Jan.  13th,  p,  112,  113. 


34  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

bringing  about  the  reform  he  had  hoped  for,  his  preach- 
ing and  mode  of  living  seemed  to  make  conditions 
worse.  He  therefore  decided  not  to  give  up  his  work, 
but  to  change  his  field  of  labor,  and  after  the  example 
of  St.  Gregory  of  Nazianz,  to  satisfy  the  wishes  of  his 
enemies  and  to  depart.  "If  on  my  account, "  he  said, 
' '  the  whole  diocese  is  upset ;  if  my  words,  instead  of  edi- 
fying, are  but  the  cause  of  scandal  and  strife,  for  the 
welfare  of  my  diocese  I  will  go  away." 

He  went  to  Cologne  and  resigned  all  his  ecclesiastical 
preferments  into  the  hands  of  his  Archbishop.  It 
was  in  vain  that  Archbishop  Frederic  endeavored  to 
have  him  change  his  decision.  As  later  events  will 
abundantly  prove,  he  was  specially  guided  in  this  by 
divine  Providence. 

Norbert  then  sold  his  estates  ;and  distributed  the 
money  among  the  poor.  The  chapel  of  the  Fiirstenberg, 
where  he  had  spent  nearly  three  years,  and  which  he 
had  gradually  converted  into  something  like  a  mon- 
astery, together  with  all  the  surrounding  country  be- 
longing to  himself  and  his  brother  Herbert,  he  donated 
to  the  Abbot  of  Siburg,  his  dearest  friend.8  All  he  re- 
served for  himself  were  ten  silver  marks,  a  mule,  and  the 
sacred  vestments  and  articles  necessary  for  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  His  numerous 

s  The  charter  concerning  this  donation,  which  was  drawn  up 
the  following  year,  is  the  only  place  where  any  mention  is 
made  of  the  family  of  Norbert.  The  name  of  his  brother  Her- 
bert is  herein  mentioned.  It  must  also  be  observed  that  in 
this  same  charter  Norbert  is  praised  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Cologne  as  the  "Vir  ad  omne  opus  bonum  paratus."  This  say- 
ing of  the  Archbishop  has  been  the  "mjotto"  of  the  Premon- 
stratensians  ever  since. 


Norbert  Says  Farewell  to  His  Mother  35 

servants  he  had  dismissed  long  before,  except  two  who 
had  begged  to  be  allowed  to  be  near  him,  and  now 
wanted  to  follow  him.9  One  of  these  was  the  servant 
who  had  witnessed  his  miraculous  conversion  on  the  road 
to  Freden,  which  event  had  made  nearly  as  much  impres- 
sion on  him  as  on  Norbert  himself.  The  other  was  prob- 
ably the  servant  who  had  given  him  his  penitential 
robes  in  the  cathedral,  the  day  of  his  ordination.  Their 
names  we  do  not  know,  but  Camus  observes  that  both 
were  devoted  to  Norbert,  and  to  be  with  him  was  all  they 
desired. 

After  the  Saint  had  disposed  of  all  his  earthly  pos- 
sessions, he  went  once  more  to  his  native  town,  now  to 
say  farewell  to  his  people.  It  appears  that  his  father 
had  died  before  this  event,  but  his  pious  mother  was 
probably  still  alive,  since  there  is  nowhere  any  mention 
of  her  death  before  this.  No  doubt,  the  saintly  woman 
made  the  sacrifice  most  willingly  and  even  joyfully, 
convinced  as  she  must  have  been  of  the  saintliness  of 
her  son. 

Finally,  stripped  of  all  earthly  goods,  Norbert,  once  the 
wealthy  Lord  of  Gennep,  now  barefooted,  begins  his  mis- 
sionary career.  This  was  towards  the  end  of  the  year 
1118.  Not  knowing  whither  to  go,  he  abandoned  all  to 
divine  Providence.  Like  Abraham  he  had  heard  the 
voice  of  God  in  his  inner  soul :  ' '  Go  out  from  thy  coun- 
try and  go  to  the  land  which  I  will  show  thee."  He 
hearkened  to  that  voice  and  thus  became  a  willing,  and 
hence  a  powerful,  instrument  in  the  hands  of  God  for 
the  welfare  of  souls  and  the  good  of  the  Church. 


9  It  would  seem  that  these  two  servants  had  also  been  near 
him  on  the  Fiirstenberg,  but  whether  they  lived  with  him  in 
his  little  convent  or  not  is  nowhere  stated. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    MISSIONARY. 

7,  Praeco,  totum,  Gelasius  inquit,  in  orbem; 
Fac,  caleant  flammis  omnia  regna  tuis. 

The  Pope  commissions  Norbert  to  preach  throughout  the 
world  and  by  his  burning  words  to  inflame  the  hearts 
of  the  people. 

Norbert,  in  appearance  a  second  Peter  the  Hermit, 
set  out  preaching  in  that  same  country  where,  twenty- 
five  years  before,  Peter  had  aroused  the  pebple  by 
preaching  the  Crusades.  As  we  know,  he  had  been  ad- 
vised by  the  Papal  Legate  at  the  Council  of  Fritzlar,  to 
present  himself  to  the  Holy  Father,  and  this  he  in- 
tended to  do  at  the  outset.  But  where  in  those  troubled 
days  was  the  Pope  to  be  found?  A  true  missionary, 
Norbert  relied  entirely  on  Providence;  he  went  from 
town  to  town  preaching,  hoping  on  his  way,  to  learn  of 
the  Pope's  whereabouts.  He  first  arrived  at  the  little 
town,  Huy,  situated  between  Liege  and  Namur,  in  Bel- 
gium. Naturally  the  people  were  much  surprised  to 
see  this  poor  equipage  enter  their  town;  Norbert,  bare- 
footed, his  two  former  servants,  and  a  mule  carrying 
their  luggage.  Though  in  appearance  beggars,  yet  in 
reality  they  were  not,  for  Norbert  had  still  the  ten  silver 
marks  which  he  had  kept  for  himself.  He  began  to 
realize  that  to  have  this  money  was  not  only  against  the 
spirit  of  poverty,  which  they  outwardly  professed,  but 
also  contrary  to  entire  dependence  on  God's  Providence. 
He  reproached  himself  for  lack  of  confidence  in  God,  and 
forthwith  distributed  the  ten  marks  among  the  poor. 

36 


Pope  Gelasius  II  is  Driven  from  Rome  37 

He  considered  the  mule  also  an  unnecessary  luxury,  and 
gave  it  away.  Henceforth  he  will  have  absolutely 
nothing  but  what  is  necessary  for  the  celebration  of  the 
Holy  Sacrifice,  and  that  he  is  now  obliged  to  carry 
wherever  he  goes.  Barefooted  and  begging  his  daily 
bread — a  worthy  precursor  of  St.  Francis — Norbert  thus 
espouses  the  poverty  of  Jesus  Christ.  His  lively  faith 
and  unlimited  confidence  in  God  are  to  be  from  this 
time  his  only  riches. 

Pope  Paschal  II,  with  whom  Norbert,  while  at  the 
court  of  Henry  in  Rome,  had  come  in  contact,  died  in 
the  beginning  of  this  same  year.  Fearing  an  interference 
on  the  part  of  Henry,  the  Cardinals  hastily  met,  and 
seven  days  after  the  death  of  Paschal  elected  as  his  suc- 
cessor John  of  Gaeta,  who  took  the  name  of  Gelasius  II. 
This  happened  on  the  24th  of  January,  1118.  On  learn- 
ing of  the  election,  Cencio  Frangipani,  leader  of  the 
German  faction,  at  once  seized  the  new  Pope  and  cast 
him  into  prison.  Scarcely  had  the  august  prisoner  been 
set  free,  in  fact  on  the  very  day  of  his  ordination,  for 
the  newly  elected  Pope  was  only  deacon  as  yet — Henry 
V  came  to  interfere,  and  Gelasius  was  obliged  to  escape 
under  cover  of  darkness.  He  landed  in  Gaeta,  his  na- 
tive city,  and  here  he  was  consecrated.  He  then  went 
back  to  Rome,  but  Cencio  Frangipani  for  the  second 
time  laid  his  sacrilegious  hands  upon  the  Lord's  anoint- 
ed. Again  the  Pope  escaped,  and  this  time  went 
to  France,  the  country  always  devoted  to  the  Papacy. 
On  Nov.  7th,  1118,  he  stepped  upon  the  shores  of  Pro- 
vence, and  for  a  time  made  his  residence  in  St.  Giles,  in 
Languedoc,  now  in  the  department  of  Gard.  Here  the 
Holy  Father  was  received  with  due  honor  and  great  en- 
thusiasm by  the  good  people. 


38  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

In  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century  news  did  not 
travel  very  fast,  so  it  was  some  time  before  the  tidings 
of  the  Holy  Father  reached  the  ears  of  Norbert.  As 
soon  as  he  had  learned  that  the  Pope  was  in  the  South  of 
France,  he  decided  to  go  thither.  Winter  had  well  set 
in  at  the  time,  and  a  most  severe  one  it  was.  The  coun- 
try was  thickly  covered  with  snow  and  ice.  But  no 
obstacles  could  keep  Norbert  from  fulfilling  what  he 
considered  his  mission,  so  with  his  two  companions  he 
set  out  at  once. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  any  one  to  give  an  adequate 
description  of  the  hardships  of  this  journey.  Barefooted 
on  cold  winter  days — in  a  strange  country — and  unac- 
quainted with  its  language,  begging  their  daily  bread, 
the  little  party  traveled  on  foot  for  seven  long  weeks.1 
The  Saint  offered  to  God  the  hardships  he  endured,  in 
expiation  of  his  sins,  and  his  two  companions  were  con- 
stantly encouraged  by  his  example.  At  last  they  were 
kneeling  greatly  exhausted,  before  the  relics  of  St.  Giles, 
thanking  God  for  His  protection. 

St.  Giles  was  a  famous  shrine,  and  from  all  parts  of 
the  country  pilgrimages  were  continually  made  to  the 
venerable  tomb  of  the  illustrious  solitary  of  the  Flavian 
valley.  Although  it  was  mid-winter  at  the  time  of  Nor- 
bert 's  arrival,  the  crowds  were  unusually  large  on  ac- 
count of  the  presence  of  the  august  Pontiff. 

Not  one  of  the  vast  multitude  assembled  there  recog- 
nized our  humble  servant  of  God.  The  Saint  rejoiced 

i  According  to  Vanden  Elsen,  o.  c.,  p.  31,  it  was  at  this  time 
that  Norbert,  while  in  Lyons,  spoke  on  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 


Norbert  is  Made  Missionary  Apostolic  39 

greatly  in  this,  for  ever  since  his  conversion,  his  am- 
bition was  to  be  unknown  and  forgotten,  except  as 
penitent  and  missionary.  Having  satisfied  his  devotion 
at  the  shrine,  Norbert  proceeded  to  the  Pope's  residence 
and  asked  to  be  admitted  into  his  presence.  He  had  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  the  great  favor  of  a  private  au- 
dience, notwithstanding  his  beggarly  appearance.  With 
a  heart  full  of  gratitude  to  God  for  all  His  favors,  he 
approached  the  Holy  Father.  Throwing  himself  at  the 
feet  of  the  Pope  and  shedding  an  abundance  of  tears,  he 
made  with  the  greatest  humility  a  general  confession  of 
his  whole  life.  He  begged  the  Holy  Father  to  absolve 
him,  and  offered  to  make  any  satisfaction  which  the 
Vicar  of  Christ  might  choose  to  impose  on  him. 

When  after  a  long  interview  Gelasius  had  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  Norbert 's  noble  birth,  his  position  at  the 
court,  his  miraculous  conversion,  in  fact  his  whole  life's 
history,  he  expressed  his  desire  to  keep  Norbert  at  his 
own  court  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church.2  Our  poor 
Saint  trembled  at  the  very  thought  of  resuming  the  life 
of  a  courtier,  even  with  the  Holy  Father,  and  related 
how  he  had  received  the  clearest  signs  from  heaven  to  be 
a  missionary  and  work  for  "Reform"  among  clergy  and 
laity;  at  the  same  time  he  begged  on  his  knees  the  Pope's 
leave  and  blessing  to  preach  the  Gospel.  Pope  Gelasius 
was  anxious  to  assist  the  earnest  missionary  in  his 
apostolic  labors,  and  gave  him  full  faculties  to  preach  the 
Gospel  wherever  he  judged  proper.  He  gave  him  a  docu- 
ment also,  by  which  Norbert  became  a  "Missionary 


2  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  91,  where  an  extract  is  given  of  the 
tenth  chapter  of  the  Vita  B. 


40  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

Apostolic,"  which  means  that  he  could  preach  in  any 
diocese.3 

Imagine  his  (immense  joy  on  receiving  this  great 
favor.  His  vocation  was  thus  recognized  by  the  highest 
authority — all  his  desires  were  now  gratified,  and  his 
happiness  complete.  It  is  not  without  reason  that  several 
writers  consider  this  event  as  the  beginning  of  Nor- 
bert's  apostolic  career.  Thus,  for  instance,  writes  An- 
selm  of  Havelberg:  "In  the  time  of  Pope  Gelasius 
there  arose  a  man,  by  the  name  of  Norbert,  who  imitated 
the  life  of  the  Apostles,  and  on  account  of  his  zeal  and 
holiness  of  life,  received  of  the  Etonian.  Pope  Gelasius, 
special  recommendation  to  preach,  in  order  to  check  the 
many  abuses  in  the  Western  Church.  He  went  preach- 
ing through  the  provinces  and  won  a  great  number  of 
followers.  .  .  ." 

Burning  with  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  Norbert 
was  anxious  to  make  use  of  the  power  the  Pope  had 
granted  him,  and  soon  left  St.  Giles.  Although  spring 
was  near,  snow  and  ice  still  made  the  roads  most  diffi- 
cult for  travelers.  Still,  barefooted,  Norbert  returned 
to  the  North.  In  many  places  he  was  obliged  to  wade 
knee-deep  through  the  snow,  nevertheless  he  refused  to 
make  a  stop  even  for  a  day,  except  for  the  purpose  of 
preaching.  Speaking  of  this  truly  heroic  journey,  the 
earliest  biographer  says :  ' '  His  burning  love  of  God 
rendered  him  insensible  to  cold,  and  his  thirsting  after 
souls  made  him  forget  his  lack  of  nourishment  and 

3  Ibidem.,  p.  92,  where  further  is  quoted  the  "Chronic,  de 
Mailros,"  apud  Fell.  S.  S.  Rerum  Angl.,  p.  164.  An.  1118:  Dom- 
inus  Norbertus  papam  Gelasium  adiens  officium  ab  eo  praedi- 
cationis  accepit.  Also  Vita  A,  p.  448,  An.  1118. 


Norbert  at  Valenciennes  41 

fatigue. ' '  At  this  time  lie  still  kept  up  his  earlier  prac- 
tice, except  on  Sundays,  of  not  taking  food  until  even- 
ing. When  not  actually  traveling  he  was  preaching, 
and  many  of  his  nights  were  spent  entirely  in  prayer. 

Passing  through  Orleans  in  the  beginning  of  Lent,  he 
was  joined  by  a  new  disciple,  who  asked  to  remain  with 
him  and  assist  in  his  missionary  labors.  Thus  Norbert, 
with  his  two  former  servants  and  his  new  disciple,  who 
was  a  subdeacon,  journeyed  on  as  far  as  Valenciennes. 
Here  they  arrived  on  the  22d  of  May,  that  year  the  eve 
of  Palm  Sunday.  The  time  was,  doubtless,  very  favor- 
able for  the  zeal  of  our  apostle,  but  he  was  not  well  con- 
versant with  the  French  language.  What,  then,  should 
he  do  ?  That  he  knew  some  French,  we  may  safely  infer 
from  the  fact  that  he  had  been  preaching  on  the  way, 
but  he  had  not  that  mastery  of  it  which  this  solemn 
occasion  seemed  to  demand.  At  first  he  was  quite  dis- 
heartened, but  soon  we  see  him  in  the  church,  and  while 
there,  praying  most  fervently ;  the  thought  came  to  him 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  had  bestowed  upon  the  Apostles  the 
gift  of  languages.  He  thus  asked  God  for  the  sake  of 
the  apostolate  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  people,  to  make 
them  understand  his  words.  Full  of  confidence  in  God 's 
mercies,  and  with  that  lively  faith  so  characteristic  of 
him,  he.  fearlessly  mounted  the  pulpit,  and,  carried  away 
by  holy  enthusiasm,  preached  a  most  eloquent  sermon  in 
his  own  language.  "And  oh!  wonder,"  says  the  biog- 
rapher of  Brandenburg,4  "his  words  were  received  by 


*  Ace.  to  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  94,  two  codices  (Morinensis  et 
Knechtstedenensis)  of  the  Vita  B  relate  here  the  miracle  of 
"tongues." 


42  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

the  people  with  delight  and  listened  to  with  the  closest 
attention. ' ' 

Some  historians,  relating  this  incident,  say  that  his 
appearance  and  gestures  spoke  more  eloquently  than 
words,  and  conveyed  his  meaning.  Others,  however, 
and  among  these  his  earliest  biographers,  ascribe  the  fact 
to  a  great  miracle,  which  recalls  the  first  great  Pente- 
cost at  Jerusalem.  This  miracle  is  also  affirmed  by  so 
reliable  an  authority  as  Bl.  Hugh,  at  that  time  chaplain 
of  Bishop  Burchard,  and  later  Norbert 's  best  beloved 
disciple  and  successor.  Moreover,  it  is  a  most  remark- 
able fact,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Valenciennes  con- 
tinued coming  in  large  crowds  to  listen  to  him,  and 
begged  him  to  spend  some  time  with  them.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  about  a  number  of  conversions,  and 
the  people  honored  him  as  a  truly  apostolic  missionary. 
But  Norbert  had  not  intended  to  stay  among  them.  He 
thought  merely  to  pass  through  their  town  on  his  way 
to  the  North,  and  so  did  not  wish  to  delay  his  journey 
thither.  However,  it  soon  appeared  to  be  the  will  of 
God  that  he  should  remain  here  longer,  where  a  great 
trial  awaited  him. 

His  three  companions  suddenly  became  ill,  and  Nor- 
bert was  obliged  to  accept  the  generous  offer  of  hospi- 
tality which  he  had  previously  declined.  It  is  very  prob- 
able that  the  illness  was  caused  by  privation,  fatigue 
and  exposure  during  their  long  and  tedious  journey. 
This  must  have  been  the  case  at  least  in  regard  to  his 
two  former  servants.  Their  illness  showed  from  the 
start  disquieting  symptoms  as  the  fever  ran  high,  and 
soon  Norbert  realized  that  it  was  question  of  life  and 
death.  "He  attended  them  faithfully,"  relates  a  manu- 
script of  the  abbey  of  Vicogne;  "he  cleansed  and  nursed 


Burchard,  Bishop  of  Cambray  43 

their  sore  and  emaciated  bodies,  their  feet  bruised  by 
ice  and  frozen  snow;  he  prepared  their  food  which  he 
himself  begged  from  the  charity  of  the  faithful,  and  he 
waited  on  them  constantly."5  But  his  affectionate  care 
could  not  stay  the  hand  of  death,  and  during  the  Octave 
of  Easter,  after  two  weeks  of  suffering,  the  three  helpers 
of  our  zealous  missionary  passed  to  where  suffering  is 
unknown.  Norbert  himself  had  administered  to  them 
the  rites  of  Holy  Church;  and  aided  by  him  they  died 
fully  resigned  to  the  will  of  God,  though  they  were  far 
from  home  and  in  a  strange  and  unknown  country. 
Broken-hearted  and  worn  out  by  fatigue,  Norbert  accom- 
panied their  bodies  to  their  last  resting  place.  This  trial 
was  all  the  greater  for  Norbert,  coming  at  the  very  out- 
set of  his  missionary  career.  Still  his  confidence  in  God 
was  unshaken.  With  Job  he  exclaimed:  "The  Lord 
hath  given,  the  Lord  hath  taken,  praised  be  the  name  of 
the  Lord. ' '  Consoled  by  this  thought,  he  had  the  bodies 
of  his  faithful  companions  buried  with  great  honor 
amidst  a  large  concourse  of  people. 

During  these  weeks  of  suffering  and  anxiety,  while 
Norbert  had  been  busy  nursing  his  sick  companions,  a 
most  providential  circumstance  occurred.  Burchard,  the 
Bishop  of  Cambray,  a  sincere  friend  of  Norbert,  had 
made  his  entrance  into  the  village.  Burchard  had,  for 
the  past  three  years,  been  Bishop  of  Cambray,  which 
see,  as  we  remember,  had  been  offered  first  to  Norbert  by 
the  Emperor  Henry,  on  his  return  journey  from  Rome, 
but  which  Norbert  at  the  time  declined  to  accept. 
Burchard  and  Norbert  had  known  each  other  a  long 


s  Cfr.  Charles  Louis  Hugo,  "Annales  Ordinis  Praem."    Book 
I,  p.  34. 


44  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

time  at  the  court  of  Henry,  and  had  always  been  sincere 
friends.  Feeling  at  this  time  the  special  need  of  a 
trusted  friend,  our  Saint  went  to  pay  his  respects  to  the 
Bishop. 

He  arrived  at  the  Bishop 's  residence,  met  one  of  the 
chaplains,  and  asked  <him  to  arrange  an  interview  with 
His  Lordship.  This  cleric,  not  knowing  Norbert,  an- 
nounced to  the  Bishop  that  a  beggarly  looking  pilgrim 
wanted  an  audience.  No  doubt  the  chaplain  thought 
that  this  poor  man  had  come  to  beg  for  alms,  and  hoped 
to  spare  the  Bishop  the  trouble  of  seeing  him  personally. 
The  good  Bishop,  however,  asked  to  see  that  poor  pil- 
grim, and  Norbert  was  admitted  into  his  presence.  En- 
tering the  room,  Norbert  greeted  his  former  companion 
familiarly,  and  in  German,  which  greatly  surprised  the 
Bishop  who  thereupon  looked  at  him  intently  for  a  few 
minutes.  He  saw  his  bare  feet — bruised  and  swollen — 
his  beggarly  appearance — he  scrutinized  his  emaciated 
features,  until  suddenly  overcome  by  emotion  and  greatly 
astonished,  he  exclaimed:  "Is  it  you,  is  it  really  you, 
master  Norbert?  But  who  would  ever  believe  this?" 
Then  recalling  Norbert 's  former  greatness,  his  wealth 
and  high  position,  and  at  the  same  time  realizing  that 
he  had  forsaken  all  this  for  God,  Burchard  burst  into 
tears  and  embraced  his  noble  friend,  dearer  to  him  now 
than  ever  before;  for  a  long  time  neither  was  able  to 
say  a  word. 

At  last  the  silence  was  broken  by  Hugh,  the  Bishop 's 
chaplain,  who  had  been  present  all  the  while  and  who 
was  greatly  astonished  at  the  tears  and  marks  of  friend- 
ship between  the  Bishop  and  this  beggar.  Since  he 
could  not  understand  German,  he  could  only  surmise 
the  meaning  of  it  all,  and  said  to  the  Bishop :  "But  who, 


Norbert  and  Hugh  of  Fosse  45 

my  lord,  is  this  stranger?"  "Ah,"  the  Bishop  replied, 
"if  you  only  knew  who  he  is  and  what  he  has  been,  you 
"would  undoubtedly  share  my  surprise  and  admiration. 
"This  poorly-clad  beggar  is  the  son  of  the  illustrious 
' '  Count  of  Gennep,  and  is  related  to  the  highest  nobility 
"in  Germany.  We  spent  several  years  together  at  the 
' '  Court,  and  he  was  always  a  great  favorite  of  the  Em- 
"peror,  and  one  of  the  most  elegant  courtiers.  And 
"what  is  more,  it  is  to  this  man  that  I  owe  my  bishopric. 
'  *  The  Emperor  offered  me  the  see  of  Cambray,  only  after 
"Norbert  had  refused  it  ...  and  to  meet  him  now 
"in  this  state  .  .  .  a  barefooted  beggar  seeking  God 
"in  poverty  and  sacrifice!"6  A  flood  of  tears  pre- 
vented the  good  Bishop  from  saying  more,  but  he  had 
said  enough  to  further  God's  designs  over  his  chaplain, 
for  his  words  together  with  the  sight  of  Norbert  so 
touched  the  heart  of  the  chaplain,  that  at  once  he  took 
a  generous  resolve.  He  beheld  in  Norbert  no  common 
man,  but  a  true  saint,  and  the  grace  of  God  revived  in 
his  heart  that  desire  for  the  religious  life  which  he  had 
felt  for  a  long  time.  Should  he  not  also  be  able  to  say 
farewell  to  the  world  and  its  allurements,  and  consecrate 
himself  to  God  forever?  Oh!  may  we  not  here  again 
admire  the  all-guiding  Providence  of  God,  for  this  chap- 
lain, as  we  shall  see  later,  will  be  one  of  Norbert 's  most 
illustrious  disciples. 

Norbert  and  the  Bishop  spent  a  long  time  conversing 
together,  unconscious  of  the  change  that  was  taking 
place  in  the  heart  of  the  chaplain.  Burchard  was  at  once 
convinced  of  Norbert 's  absolute  sincerity  and  holiness, 


«Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  97,  quoting  Acta  SS.  XX,  p.  853. 
Analecta  Norbertina:  Si  scires  quis  fuerit,  etc. 


46  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

and  gave  him  every  token  of  the  deepest  respect.  Their 
old  friendship  was  renewed  and  they  met  frequently. 

But  illness  soon  prostrated  Norbert.  The  nursing  of 
his  sick  companions,  following  upon  his  long  and  tedious 
journey,  had  overtaxed  his  bodily  strength.  Utterly  ex- 
hausted, his  mortified  frame  at  last  gave  way,  and  he  was 
forced  once  more  to  prolong  his  stay  at  Valenciennes. 
Soon  his  condition  became  so  alarming  that  the  good 
Bishop  postponed  his  own  departure  in  order  to  be  of 
assistance  to  Norbert,  whenever  possible.  Every  day  the 
Prelate  came  to  inquire  after  his  condition,  either  in 
person  or  by  one  of  his  clerics,  usually  his  chaplain 
Hugh.  The  latter  especially  was  very  anxious  to  spend 
a  good  deal  of  time  with  the  Saint,  in  order  to  imbibe  his 
spirit  and  miaxims.  The  oftener  he  saw  Norbert  the 
more  he  admired  his  patience  and  entire  resignation  to 
the  will  of  God,  and  he  felt  himself  strongly  drawn  to 
him.  So  this  illness  was  in  the  unscrutable  designs  of 
God,  a  great  blessing  for  both.  "When  Norbert  was  at 
last  well  on  in  the  way  of  convalescence,  Hugh  opened  to 
him  his  mind  and  heart,  and  told  him  the  story  of  his 
life.  He  emphasized  especially  the  feelings  he  had  ex- 
perienced at  their  first  meeting,  and  when  he  begged 
Norbert  as  a  great  favor  to  allow  him  to  join  in  his 
apostolic  work,  our  dear  Saint  was  beside  himself  with 
joy.  "Lord,"  he  exclaimed,  "Thou  art  my  witness  that 
even  on  this  day  have  I  asked  Thee  for  a  companion. 
Behold  here  he  is.  Thanks,  my  heavenly  Father,  I  thank 
Thee  with  my  whole  heart. '  '7 

These  events  occurred  in  April,  1119.  The  following 
month  Norbert 's  health  was  so  far  restored  that  he  felt 


7  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  98. 


Norlert's  Visit  to  Cambray  47 

able  to  travel  to  Cambray  and  visit  his  dear  friend, 
Bishop  Burchard,  as  we  read  in  the  annals  of  the  diocese 
of  Cambray :  "In  the  year  1119,  during  Rogation  week, 
master  Norbert  came  to  this  town  for  the  first  time." 
We  mention  this  fact  to  show  how  highly  our  saint  was 
esteemed,  since  even  his  visit  to  the  place  is  mentioned  in 
the  annals.  Hugh,  meanwhile,  had  gone  to  Fosse,  his 
native  town,  to  put  his  estates  in  order  and  say  farewell 
to  his  kinsfolk.  He  actually  joined  Norbert  for  good 
after  the  latter 's  return  from  Cambray  to  Valenciennnes, 
in  the  month  of  June,  1119.  This  same  Hugh  is  to  play 
a  very  important  part  in  the  early  formation  of  the  Pre- 
monstratensian  Order.  When  Norbert  is  raised  to  the 
Archiepiscopal  See  of  Magdeburg,  Hugh  succeeds  him 
and  takes  the  management  of  the  whole  Order. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE    PEACEMAKER. 

Saepius  armatae  coeunt  in  foedera  dextrae, 
Norberto  hostiles  pacificante  globos. 

Angel  of  peace,  at  thy  command 

Fierce  discord  vanished  from  the  land, 

And  hearts  by  thee  to  Jesus  given 

Brought  forth  abundant  fruit  for  Heaven.     (Office.) 

Norbert  had  intended  returning  to  Cologne  but,  for 
some  unknown  reason,  at  this  time  changed  his  former 
plan.  During  his  illness  he  had  devoted  a  great  deal  of 
time  to  the  study  of  French,  and  talented  as  he  was,  we 
may  safely  presume  that  he  soon  became  able  to  express 
himself  with  ease  in  that  language.  This  may  account 
for  his  change  of  plan.  At  any  rate  when  Hugh  re- 
turned, Norbert  at  once  resumed  his  missionary  career. 
Accompanied  by  Hugh,  he  went  through  Hainault,  Bra- 
bant, and  the  principality  of  Liege,  preaching  the  im- 
portance of  salvation  at  every  opportunity  on  his  way. 
"What  will  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world 
and  suffer  the  loss  of  his  soul?"  How  convincingly 
could  Norbert  dwell  on  these  words  of  St.  Matthew! 
Had  he  not  seen  the  vanity  of  it  all?  Little  wonder, 
therefore,  that  God's  choicest  blessings  rested  visibly  on 
his  missionary  work.  Wherever  he  went  the  people 
crowded  to  hear  him.  His  powerful  sermons,  strength- 
ened and  illustrated  by  his  own  evangelical  life,  and 
spoken  with  the  strength  of  conviction,  made  numerous 
conversions  even  among  the  most  hardened  sinners.  God 

48 


Norbert  Refuses  All  Remuneration  49 

seemed  to  have  given  our  Saint  the  special  grace  of  rec- 
onciling the  most  relentless  enemies,  and  this  gift,  as 
events  will  presently  show,  did  not  remain  hidden  in 
him. 

We  know  also  that  Norbert,  zealous  as  he  was  for  the 
salvation  of  souls,  absolutely  refused  any  remuneration 
for  his  missionary  labor.  He,  as  well  as  Hugh — true  beg- 
gars of  Christ — depended  entirely  on  God's  Providence 
for  life's  necessities.  As  the  early  historian  remarks,  it 
seemed  to  Norbert  to  be  unworthy  of  their  state  to  take 
any  earthly  remuneration,  since  they,  for  the  sake  of 
Christ,  had  given  up  and  even  despised  their  own 
earthly  goods.1  Strangers  and  pilgrims  on  earth,  they 
wished  nothing  that  might  prevent  them  from  continually 
raising  their  aspirations  and  thoughts  to  heaven. 

It  is  quite  natural  that  this  total  disinterestedness  in 
earthly  things  deeply  touched  the  hearts  and  minds  of 
the  people.  The  name  of  the  great  missionary  Norbert, 
was  soon  on  the  lips  of  all. 

.    .    .    And  with  amaze 
The  Gallic  nation  stood  to  hear 
Thy  matchless  accents,  rich  and  clear. 

(Office  of  St.  Norbert.) 

The  enthusiasm  with  which  he  was  received  in  many 
places  goes  far  beyond  description.  He  was  hailed  as 
the  great  Apostle  from  heaven,  and  when  he  left  one 
place,  says  Madelaine,  shepherds  even  left  their  flocks 
to  announce  his  coming  to  a  neighboring  village.  Upon 
his  arrival  the  bells  rang  out  and  all  the  people 
assembled  in  the  church.  Then  Norbert  at  once  mounted 


Vita  B,  Ch.  XIII. 


50  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

the  pulpit ;  after  him  Hugh  addressed  the  people  and  the 
exercises  often  lasted  for  hours.  Happily,  historians 
have  not  failed  to  tell  us  what  subjects  our  Saint  most 
frequently  chose  for  his  sermons.  The  frequentation  of 
the  Sacraments,  the  necessity  of  doing  penance,  restitu- 
tion, the  obligations  of  people  about  to  be  married,  and 
the  duties  of  the  rich,  were  his  usual  themes.2 

Every  night,  when  the  services  were  over,  our  mis- 
sionaries retired  to  the  dwelling-place  of  some  family  in 
the  neighborhood.  Even  the  most  prominent  people, 
governors  of  the  provinces  as  well  as  lords  of  the  castles, 
urged  our  poor  beggars  to  come  to  spend  the  night 
with  them.  Norbert  passed  his  nights  mostly  in  prayer 
and  in  instructing  his  companion,  for  his  great  zeal  for 
the  salvation  of  souls,  did  not  make  him  forget  the 
spiritual  education  of  Hugh,  his  first  disciple.  Any 
spare  moments  he  could  find,  by  day  or  by  night,  were 
spent  in  this  important  work.  He  urged  him  to  the 
practice  of  the  virtues  of  patience,  humility  and  espe- 
cially of  poverty,  saying : 

"My  brother,  let  this  virtue  of  poverty  not  discourage 
"you.  Jesus  Christ  has  borne  all  the  burdens  of  it; 
be  not  disheartened,  but  embrace  what  your  Redeemer 
first  practiced.  St.  Lawrence  poured  the  treasures  of 
the  Church  into  the  hands  of  the  poor;  imitate  his 
example  in  the  disposal  of  your  property.  This  gen- 
erous sacrifice,  which  I  advise  you  to  make,  is  not  ac- 
cording to  the  liking  of  a  covetous  heart,  but  the  spirit 
"of  poverty  is  necessary  in  order  to  preach  the  Gospel 
successfully.  If  it  costs  much  to  nature,  a  man  truly 


2  Ibidem. 


Norbert's  Influence  Over  Hugh  51 

' '  poor  in  spirit  is  already  rewarded  in  this  world  by  the 
"unction  of  God's  grace  and  by  the  solicitude  of  His 
"Holy  Providence.  Be  not  ashamed  of  humiliations; 
"they  are  the  germ  of  glory.  Be  attentive  to  the  cus- 
tody of  your  chastity,  this  virtue  will  transform  you 
"into  an  angel.  Be  prompt  to  comply  with  the  orders 
"of  obedience;  it  is  by  this  virtue  that  you  will  raise 
"yourself  to  an  understanding  of  God's  greatness.  Arm 
"yourself  with  patience  in  the  time  of  adversities;  these 
"are  the  portions  of  the  elect.  Do  not  expect  a  better 
"lot  than  that  of  the  Apostles;  you  are  heir  to  their 
'"ministry,  you  will  be  heir  to  their  suffering. "  (Vita  B, 
Ch.  XIV.) 

By  this  and  similar  exhortations  did  Norbert  succeed 
in  inflaming  the  heart  of  Hugh.  He,  moreover,  continu- 
ally practiced  what  he  taught,  and  thus  made  his  coun- 
sels more  easy  to  follow.  Above  all,  Hugh  was  eager  to 
study  the  life  of  his  master,  for  whom  he  had  the  greatest 
admiration. 

We  note  some  change  about  this  time  in  Norbert 's 
manner  of  traveling.  Until  now  he  had  journeyed  on 
foot,  but  hereafter  we  shall  see  him  at  times  make  use 
of  a  modest  equipage.  Dr.  Winter  observes:  "Some- 
times also  when  the  fatigue  of  an  excessive  journey  pre- 
vented Norbert  from  walking,  he  would  ride  a  donkey 
so  as  not  to  be  obliged  to  interrupt  his  missionary 
labors."3  Still,  whenever  able,  Norbert  always  walked, 
carrying  with  him  the  articles  necessary  for  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Holy  Sacrifice. 

Without  doubt  this  constant  self-denial  and  sincere 
humility,  added  to  his  forceful  preaching,  made  his 


s  Winter,  "Die  Praemonstratenser,"  p.  327. 


52  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

apostolic  work  doubly  effective.  He  never  allowed  the 
people  even  to  set  a  table  for  him,  but  whenever  he 
could  do  so  without  giving  offense,  took  his  meager  re- 
past sitting  on  the  floor.  "When,  however,  he  was  the 
guest  of  an  Archbishop  or  of  an  Abbot,  he  would  con- 
form himself  to  the  rules  of  the  house  in  deference  to  his 
distinguished  host.4 

In  order  to  appreciate  rightly  Norbert's  great  mission 
as  peacemaker,  we  must  consider  some  conditions  pecul- 
iar to  the  times.  We  shall  find  in  them  an  explanation 
of  Norbert's  frequent  preaching  on  the  subject  of  resti- 
tution. At  no  period  were  bloody  fights  between  princes, 
landlords,  and  even  common  people,  more  general.  These 
were  the  reconstruction  days  of  the  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment, the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century.  The  great 
political  power  acquired  by  churchmen  under  the  feudal 
system,  as  well  as  the  assumption  of  ecclesiastical  power 
by  secular  princes,  had  opened  the  way  to  abuses  and 
scandals  of  all  kinds.  The  vice  of  simony  especially  had 
made  deplorable  progress.  St.  Peter  Damian  draws  a 
most  gloomy  picture  of  this  period  which,  as  is  known  to 
the  student  of  history,  is  unfortunately  no  exaggeration. 
The  great  Pope  Hildebrand,  Gregory  VII,  had  been 
raised  by  God  to  bring  about  a  much  needed  reform ;  and 
he  proved  himself  equal  to  the  task.  In  the  year  1075,  in  a 
Synod  held  in  Rome,  he  struck  the  evil  at  its  root,  real- 
izing that  deep-seated  abuses  can  be  eliminated  only 
by  drastic  measures.  He  prohibited  under  pain  of  ex- 
communication the  practice  of  lay-investiture,  and  de- 
prived secular  princes  of  their  assumed  ecclesiastical 
power. 


Vita  B,  Ch.  XIII. 


Norbert  fs  Mission  at  Fosse  53 

As  was  to  be  expected,  this  sweeping  enactment  be- 
came the  cause  of  bitter  strife.  Although  the  preaching 
of  the  Crusades,  some  years  later,  had,  to  a  great  extent, 
diverted  the  attention  of  the  people,  and  re-established 
peace  and  concord  in  mlany  places,  yet  history  shows 
that  many  of  these  petty  sovereigns,  feudal  lords,  be- 
came bitter  and  revengeful  after  their  power  had  been 
thus  curtailed  by  Gregory,  and  their  influence  lessened. 
Feeling  themselves  powerless  against  Pope  Gregory,  they 
often  looked  elsewhere  for  revenge,  and  this  explains  in 
part  the  hard-heartedness — inveterate  enmities — fre- 
quent quarrels  and  bloody  fights  of  those  days.  Great 
tact,  no  doubt,  was  required  to  do  real  missionary  work 
among  this  class  of  people.  As  Thomas  a  Kempis 
rightly  observes :  ' '  First  keep  thyself  in  peace  and  then 
shalt  thou  be  able  to  bring  others  to  peace."  (Imit.  II.8.) 

Norbert,  who  by  constant  prayer  and  mortification  had 
become  entire  master  of  himself,  was  on  that  account 
eminently  fitted  for  this  arduous  task.  After  leaving 
the  diocese  of  Cambray,  he  and  his  companion  went  to 
Fosse,  Hugh's  native  place,  situated  about  seven  miles 
S.  "W.  of  Namur,  in  Belgium.  Since  Norbert  ?s  austere  life 
and  the  success  of  his  preaching  were  well  known  in 
that  place,  he  was  received  as  a  man  from  God.  Both 
clergy  and  laity  came  out  in  great  numbers  to  hear  him. 
In  the  record  of  this  mission  there  is  an  instance  given 
of  Norbert 's  great  power  as  peacemaker. 

After  the  usual  mission  exercises  were  over,  the  people 
came  to  the  Saint  requesting  him  to  reconcile  two  fam- 
ilies, for  a  long  time  separated  by  deadly  hatred.  Al- 
ready more  than  sixty  persons  had  been  killed,  they  said, 
in  consequence  of  family  feuds,  and  neither  priest  nor 
magistrate  had  been  able  to  restore  peace.  While  they 


54  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

were  thus  entreating  Norbert,  there  appeared  upon  the 
scene  a  brother  of  one,  who  that  very  same  week  had 
been  killed  by  a  person  of  the  opposite  camp.  ' l  Behold, ' ' 
they  exclaimed,  "there  comes  one  of  the  very  persons  of 
whom  we  are  speaking ! ' ' 

Uttering  a  silent  prayer,  Norbert  went  at  once  to 
meet  the  young  man,  embraced  him  and  then  said :  ' '  My 
"dear  friend,  I,  a  stranger  in  this  place,  a  mere  passer- 
"by,  should  like  to  speak  to  you.  Since  my  arrival  I 
"have  not  as  yet  asked  a  favor  of  any  one,  neither  have 
"I  received  one.  It  would  be  a  great  pleasure  for  me 
"to  receive  from  you  the  very  first  favor  I  ask  for  in 
"this  village.  God  will  reward  you  abundantly  if  you 
"grant  me  what  I  ask."5  The  young  man,  touched  by 
these  gentle  words,  and  still  more  by  the  grace  of  God 
which  had  come  over  him  in  answer  to  Norbert 's  pray- 
er, wonderingly  said:  "Speak,  Father."  "I  beg  of 
you,"  answered  the  Saint,  "as  a  great  favor,  that  you 
forgive  from  your  heart  the  murderer  of  your  brother. ' ' 
That  the  young  man  not  only  promised  to  forgive  the 
murderer,  but  at  the  same  time  gave  his  word  to  do  all 
in  his  power  to  reconcile  the  two  parties  at  enmity  and 
help  Norbert  to  put  a  stop  to  these  hateful  feuds,  may 
be  considered  truly  miraculous. 

On  the  following  Saturday  a  meeting  of  the  hostile 
parties  was  arranged  for,  to  be  held  at  Moustier,  not  far 
from  Fosse.  An  immense  crowd  from  the  surrounding 
country  was  assembled  in  the  village,  when  on  the  ap- 
pointed day  Norbert  arrived.  As  this  work  of  recon- 
ciliation was  most  delicate  and  required  heavenly  wis- 

s  Vita  B,  Ch.  XV.  "Dilecte  mi,  peregrinus  ego  sum  pertran- 
siens  .  .  .  placet  mihi  primum  munus  quaerere  a  te.  .  .  ." 


Painting-  by  Maarten  Pepyn   (1837). 

SAINT  NORBERT  IN  ADORATION. 


Norbert 's  Success  at  Moustier  55 

dom,  Norbert  prepared  for  it  by  long  and  fervent  pray- 
ers, that  God  might  bless  the  undertaking.  The  Saint 
must  have  arrived  early  in  the  morning,  for  we  are 
informed  that  by  9  o'clock  the  people  had  grown  tired 
waiting,  and  that  the  crowd  began  to  murmur.  At  their 
request  Hugh  sought  Norbert,  and  asked  him  to  come 
to  speak  to  the  impatient  crowd.  "As  from  a  pro- 
found ecstacy,"  says  the  early  biographer,  "Norbert 
arose  and  answered  that  his  time  had  not  yet  come." 
Then  he  went  back  to  pray,  and  only  some  hours  later 
he  returned,  entered  the  church  and  began  to  celebrate 
the  Holy  Sacrifice.  As  it  was  Saturday,  he  offered  first, 
according  to  his  custom,  one  Mass  in  honor  of  Our  Lady ; 
a  second  was  then  offered  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of 
those  whose  death  had  been  caused  by  these  family 
feuds.6 

When  Norbert  at  last  mounted  the  pulpit  it  was  3 
o  'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Most  of  the  people  had  left,  but 
Norbert  spoke  with  equal  ease  and  eloquence  to  a  small 
as  to  a  large  assembly.  His  voice,  however,  was  soon 
heard  afar,  and  a  great  many  returned  to  listen  to  his 
discourse. 

"My  dearly  beloved  brethren,"  thus  Norbert  began, 
"when  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  sent  out  His  disciples  to 
"preach  the  Gospel,  He  ordered  them  to  say  wherever 


G  There  is  nothing  new  or  extraordinary  in  celebrating  these 
two  Masses,  as  the  rules  of  the  Church  were  not  then  what  they 
are  now.  Pope  Leo  III  often  offered  as  many  as  seven  Masses 
in  one  day.  Saint  Ulderic,  Bishop  of  Augsburg,  often  said 
three;  and  also  in  England,  S.  Elphege  and  S.  Anselm,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  often  said  two.  Cfr.  Ch.  Hugo,  o.  c., 
T.  I.,  p.  44,  who  quotes  Card.  Bona  (Rer.  Liturg.  lib.  I,  cap.  18) 
and  Martene  (de  antiq.  Eccles.  rit.  a.  3,  c.  3). 


56  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

"they  came:  'Peace  be  to  this  house/  promising  that 
"the  inmates  of  that  house  would  receive  God's  peace. 
' '  We,  who  are  not  by  our  merits  but  by  a  gratuitous  gift 
"of  God,  successors  of  the  Apostles  in  the  ministry,  we 
"bring  you  this  same  peace.  You  will  not  refuse  to 
"accept  this  gift  of  God,  my  brethren,  since  this  peace 
"will  lead  you  to  the  eternal  peace  of  heaven.  You  all 
"know  what  has  brought  me  to  you.  I  did  not  come 
"here  in  my  own  name;  I  am  but  a  stranger,  a  pil- 
"grim,  but  through  me  does  Almighty  God  ask  you  to 
"forgive  your  enemy,  and  if  you  are  Christians,  you  are 
"bound  to  obey  your  Master " 

Norbert  's  discourse  on  this  occasion  was  long,  but  when 
at  last  it  was  finished,  the  whole  crowd  was  deeply  moved, 
and  the  parties  agreed  to  put  their  cause  into  the  hands 
of  Norbert,  willing  to  abide  by  his  decision.  The  cause 
was  won.  On  the  relics  of  St.  Frederic,  the  Patron 
Saint  of  the  place,  the  old  enemies  swore  a  lasting 
friendship. 

From  Fosse  and  Moustier,  Norbert  proceeded  to  Gem- 
bloux,  a  small  town  in  Brabant.  Wherever  he  went,  he 
was  hailed  as  an  angel  of  peace.  Convinced  that  God 
could  never  enter  a  heart  possessed  by  the  demon  of  ha- 
tred and  envy,  he  always  prepared  sinners  for  the  grace 
of  a  true  conversion  by  first  inducing  them  to  forgive 
their  enemies.  People  knew  this  and  thus  as  soon  as  he 
came  to  Gembloux,  he  was  begged  to  reconcile  two  lords 
who  were  sworn  enemies,  and  from  whose  enmity  all  the 
people  in  that  place  suffered  greatly.  Norbert  went  in 
person  to  them  and  won  from  one  of  them  a  solemn 
promise  to  forgive  everything.  The  other  was  obstinate 
and  unyielding.  A  few  days  later  the  latter  died  a  mis- 


The  Death  of  Pope  Gelasius  57 

erable  death,  as  Norbert  had  foretold  when  he  refused 

to  forgive  his  enemy.7 

Filled  with  Faith's  spirit,  prophecies  were  thine, 
And  thy  skilled  lips  interpreted  each  sign 
Of  heavenly  dealings.     Thou  didst  banish  far 
The  phantoms  of  hell's  spiritual  war.    .    .    . 

At  Corroy  near  Gembloux  the  Saint  also  restored 
peace  in  numerous  families ;  however,  most  of  the  de- 
tails of  his  missionary  work  here  are  lacking.  As  the 
contemporary  biographer  observes,  the  above  instances 
are  only  a  few  of  the  many  reconciliations  he  effected.8 

While  the  Saint  was  thus  busily  engaged  in  Belgium 
preaching  missions  and  reconciling  enemies,  he  learned 
to  his  great  sorrow  that  Pope  Gelasius  had  died  in  Cluny, 
while  in  exile.  Norbert  felt  this  loss  keenly,  first  be- 
cause the  generous  efforts  of  this  Pope  to  reform  abuses 
and  to  restore  peace  to  the  Church,  gave  promise  of  a 
glorious  and  useful  reign ;  secondly,  because  he  had  been 
Norbert 's  first  real  protector.  By  making  him  "  Mis- 
sionary Apostolic, "  His  Holiness  had  attached  to  Nor- 
bert's  work  the  broad  seal  of  Rome,  and  thus  most  ef- 
fectively silenced  his  enemies.  The  coming  of  a  new 
Pope,  however,  could  be,  and  according  to  Rupertus, 
actually  was,  in  the  eyes  of  Norbert 's  enemies  an  occa- 
sion for  them  to  try  once  more  to  put  a  stop  to  his 
preaching.  "For,"  he  continues,  "they  were  ever  bent 
on  opposition."  No  doubt,  their  defeat  at  Fritzlar  had 
greatly  embittered  them.  Norbert  therefore  resolved 
to  visit  the  new  Pope  as  soon  as  possible. 

7  Vita  B,  Ch.  XVI.  In  hoc  etiam  vir  Dei  spiritum  prophetiae 
habuisse  credatur.  .  .  . 

s  Ibidem.,  Ch.  XVII.  Sunt  enim  cuncta  quae  premissa  sunt, 
ex  multis  pauca,  quae  gessit;  nunc  autem  plurima  restant.  .  .  . 


58  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

While  Maurice  Bourdin,  favored  by  Henry,  but 
excommunicated  by  Pope  Paschal,  was  residing  in  Home 
as  antipope  under  the  title  of  Gregory  VIII,  the  Cardi- 
nals who  had  followed  Gelasius  into  exile,  held  .the 
election  in  Cluny  for  a  successor,  and  elected  Guy, 
Archbishop  of  Vienna,  who  took  the  title  of  Calixtus  II. 
His  election  was  soon  recognized  by  Catholic  Europe; 
and  in  Eome,  even  under  the  very  eyes  of  the  antipope, 
the  Bishop  of  Porto,  Vicar  of  His  Holiness,  asked  the 
people  as  usual  for  their  acclamation  to  ratify  the  elec- 
tion. One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  Pontiff  was  to 
assemble  a  great  Council  at  Rheims,  which  in  reality,  his 
predecessor  had  already  called.  This  came  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  our  Saint  and  he  decided  to  go  at  once  to 
Rheims. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  October,  1119,  and  all  the 
roads  leading  to  the  old  city  of  St.  Remigius  were 
crowded  with  the  most  distinguished  travelers.  Louis, 
King  of  France,  was  on  his  way  to  summon  justice 
against  the  King  of  England,  who  had  seized  upon  Nor- 
mandy, and  moreover  was  holding  in  captivity  Robert, 
the  brother  of  Louis.  Then  there  was  the  Countess  of 
Poitiers  who  had  come  to  ask  protection  against  her 
adulterous  husband,  the  Duke  of  Aquitaine.  Besides, 
more  than  four  hundred  Archbishops,  Bishops  and  Ab- 
bots were  arriving  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  to  be 
present  at  this  important  and  solemn  assembly.  Pic- 
ture to  yourself,  dear  reader,  our  poor  beggarly  look- 
ing Saint  in  the  midst  of  all  this  pomp  and  splendor. 
No  wonder  that  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  bare- 
footed pilgrim  with  no  distinction  save  his  singular  life. 
But  he  had  come,  determined  to  see  the  Holy  Father  and 
to  ask  a  renewal  of  his  apostolic  faculties  to  preach  the 


Mysterious  Words  Heard  at  RJieims  59 

Gospel  everywhere.  For  three  days  he  remained  at 
Kheims,  begging  for  an  audience,  but  was  unsuccessful. 
At  last,  sick  at  heart  and  very  much  disappointed,  he 
decided  to  leave,  and  await  a  more  favorable  oppor- 
tunity. But  presently  divine  Providence  came  to  his 
rescue. 

Accompanied  by  Hugh  and  another  disciple,  who 
meanwhile  had  joined  him,  he  had  gone  but  a  few  miles 
and  was  approaching  the  Benedictine  Abbey  of  St. 
Thierry,  when,  deciding  to  rest  for  a  while,  the  three  sat 
down  by  the  roadside.  While  there  conversing  together, 
they  distinctly  heard  a  voice,  a  mysterious  voice,  say- 
ing: " Behold  Norbert  and  his  companions,"  and  an- 
other like  an  echo  to  the  first:  " Behold  Norbert  and 
his  companion."9  All  three  felt  embarrassed;  first,  be- 
cause no  one  could  be  seen  near  at  hand;  and,  secondly, 
as  to  the  meaning  of  these  words.  But,  adds  the  biog- 
rapher, they  were  soon  to  be  enlightened,  for  Hugh  alone 
proved  to  be  a  real  companion ;  the  other  soon  left  them. 

While  Norbert  was  still  considering  the  meaning  of 
these  mysterious  words,  Bartholomew,  Bishop  of  Laon, 
happened  to  pass  our  three  wayfarers.  The  Prelate, 
who  was  on  his  way  to  Eheims,  to  be  present  at  the 
Council,  noticed  the  three  strangers;  and,  moved  by 
curiosity,  or  rather  by  divine  inspiration,  addressed 
them  and  inquired  the  purpose  of  their  journey.  "Who 
are  you?"  the  Bishop  asked.  Norbert  replied  candidly 
that  they  were  strangers,  who  had  left  their  country  in 
order  to  lead  an  apostolic  life.  They  had  come  there,  Nor- 
bert further  explained,  to  obtain  from  the  new  Pontiff  a 


9  Pertz.  Script.  XII.  Hermanni  de  miraculis  S.  Mariae  Lau- 
dunensis  lib.  Ill,  p.  653-660.  Quomodo  domnus  Bartholomeus 
Episcopus  domnum  Norbertum  invenerit. 


60  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

renewal  of  the  faculties  and  privileges  granted  to  them 
by  his  predecessor;  but,  after  waiting  for  three  days, 
they  failed  to  obtain  an  audience.  "My  only  ambition," 
pleaded  our  Saint  to  the  good  Bishop,  "is  to  obtain  the 
right  to  evangelize  the  people  everywhere. ' ' 

The  Bishop  was  touched  by  this  simplicity  of  manner, 
and  greatly  admired  these  poor  apostles.  It  seems  he 
realized  at  the  moment  that  jewels  of  sanctity  were  hid- 
den under  their  poor  exterior.  On  learning  the  cause 
of  their  sorrow,  he  expressed  his  sympathy  and  requested 
them  to  return  with  him,  promised  to  speak  in  their  be- 
half to  Pope  Calixtus  and  to  obtain  for  them  an  au- 
dience. It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  feelings  of  joy 
Norbert  experienced  at  this  happy  turn  of  affairs.  Clear- 
ly God  was  on  his  side,  and  a  fervent  prayer  of  thanks 
rose  to  his  lips.  The  Bishop  furthermore  ordered  some 
of  his  men  to  dismount  and  he  placed  Norbert  and  his 
companions  on  their  horses.  On  the  way  back  to  Rheims, 
the  Bishop  took  Hugh  aside  and  inquired  into  the  life 
of  Norbert;  he  appeared  very  anxious  to  learn  all  de- 
tails of  his  work  and  life.  Assuredly  Hugh  took  great 
pleasure  in  relating  all  he  had  heard  from  the  Bishop 
of  Cambray  in  regard  to  his  beloved  master.  He  in- 
form,ed  him  of  his  noble  birth,  his  life  at  the  court  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Cologne,  his  intimate  relations  with 
the  German  Emperor,  and  finally  of  his  conversion  and 
the  miracles  of  grace  his  words  had  produced  during  the 
last  six  months  in  Hainault,  Brabant  and  Liege.  The 
good  Bishop  listened  very  attentively  and  from  that 
moment  became  Norbert 's  best  friend  and  greatest  ad- 
mirer.10 


10  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  114. 


Bartholomew,  Bishop  of  Laon  61 

As  this  same  Bartholomew  is  to  play  a  great  and  im- 
portant part  in  Norbert 's  life,  and  especially  in  the 
later  foundation  of  the  Premonstratensian  Order,  we 
would  here  make  the  reader  more  acquainted  with  this 
noble  character.  He  was  about  the  same  age  as  Norbert, 
and  was  born  of  a  very  illustrious  family,  in  France.  His 
father's  name  was  Falcon  de  Vir,  and  his  mother  was 
Adele  de  Roucy.  When  quite  young,  he  had  been  en- 
trusted to  the  care  of  his  uncle,  the  Archbishop  of 
Rheims.  At  the  latter 's  palace  he  had  received  his  elemen- 
tary education  from  private  tutors,  but  later  he  attended 
the  well-known  school  of  Rheims.  When  ordained  sub- 
deacon  he  received  a  canonry  at  the  Metropolitan  church. 
He  is  described  as  a  modest,  loving  character,  of  a  firm 
mind.  His  face  had  an  ascetic  expression,  and  he  lived 
frugally  in  the  midst  of  opulence.  Prudent  as  he 
was,  he  lived  with  his  fellow-canons  but  never  was  really 
one  of  them.  In  the  beginning  of  1113  he  had  been 
unanimously  chosen  by  the  Chapter  of  Laon  to  be  their 
Bishop.  He  would  have  refused  the  great  honor,  had  it 
not  been  that  this  diocese  was  desolate;  and,  from  a 
worldly  standpoint,  it  held  out  to  him  nothing  but  ruin 
and  poverty,  together  with  the  disfavor  of  the  French 
King.  Such  was  the  character  of  the  noble  Bishop  in 
whose  company  Norbert  now  entered  Rheims  for  the 
second  time.11 

The  Council  was  to  open  on  the  next  day,  the  20th 
of  October,  in  the  church  of  Notre-Dame.  Upon  their 
arrival,  Bartholomew  went  directly  to  the  Pope  where  he 
was  well  received,  especially  so  since  he  was  the  Pope's 


11  Cfr.  De  Florival.     6tude  historique    sur    le    Xlle    siecle. 
Bath61emy  de  Vir,  eveque  de  Laon,  p.  31. 


62  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

cousin.  As  soon  as  he  had  paid  his  respects,  the  good 
Bishop  lost  no  time  in  pleading  Norbert's  cause.  He 
told  His  Holiness  that,  as  the  Father  of  all  Christians, 
he  should  try  to  be  in  reality  a  father  to  all,  good  and 
bad,  rich  and  poor.  He  even  went  so  far,  in  his  own 
gentle  way,  as  to  reproach  the  Pope  for  having  refused 
an  audience  to  a  man  like  Norbert.  At  once  the  Holy 
Father  gave  orders  to  introduce  our  Saint  and  his  com- 
panions. In  his  great  happiness  our  zealous  apostle 
spoke  frankly  to  the  Pope  of  his  missionary  labors  and 
the  good  he,  with  the  grace  of  God,  was  doing  every- 
where. He  then  begged  of  the  Pontiff  to  renew  the 
letters  granted  by  his  predecessor.  In  answer  to  this  re- 
quest Calixtus  blessed  Norbert's  noble  undertaking  and 
most  willingly  gave  him  a  fresh  grant  of  the  faculties 
previously  received  from  Pope  Gelasius. 

While  the  Council  lasted  Norbert  stayed  at  Rheims 
and  was  constantly  at  the  side  of  Bartholomew  who 
asked  his  advice  on  matters  of  great  importance.  He 
also  met  here  his  great  friend  Burchard,  the  Bishop  of 
Cambray,  and  many  other  real  friends.  That  he  also 
preached  here  on  some  occasions,  must  be  inferred  from 
the  fact  that  the  historian  observes:  "All  the  Prelates 
were  charmed  with  his  eloquence,  wisdom  and  piety,  and 
amazed  at  the  austere  way  of  living  which  some  advised 
him  to  moderate."12  But  the  Saint,  mindful  of  the 
words  of  the  Savior:  "He  who  hates  his  life  in  this 
world  shall  find  it,"  would  not  hear  of  mitigation  until 
the  Pope  himself  insisted  on  it.  In  deference  to  the 
wish  of  the  Holy  Father,  hereafter  he  will  not  go  bare- 
footed. 


12  Pertz.  Script.  XII.  Sigeb.  contin.  Praem.,  p.  448. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Norberto  niveas  vestes,  ceu  Signa  pudoris, 
Offert  Angelica  Virgo  Maria  manu. 

In  token  of  her  constant  love 

The  Angels'  Queen  of  Heaven  above 

Clothes  thee  in  white.    .    .    . 

After  the  Council  of  Rheims,  Norbert  and  Hugh  were 
for  a  time  separated.  Hugh  with  the  full  consent  of  Nor- 
bert, accompanied  his  Bishop,  Burchard,  whom  he  had 
met  at  the  Council,  back  to  Cambray,  while  Norbert 
went  to  Laon.  Pope  Calixtus  decided  to  spend  the  win- 
ter with  his  cousin,  Bishop  Bartholomew,  at  Laon,  and 
in  order  to  learn  more  about  the  character  of  our  Saint, 
His  Holiness  requested  the  Bishop  to  invite  Norbert 
also.  The  Bishop  did  so  most  willingly,  for  he  saw  in 
Norbert  the  very  man  who  could  be  of  great  assistance 
to  him  in  bringing  about  a  reform  in  his  poor  and  neg- 
lected diocese.  Madelaine  gives  us  a  second  reason, 
namely,  that  Norbert  's  relatives  who  lived  in  the  diocese 
of  Laon,  had  requested  the  Bishop  to  bring  the  Saint 
thither,  for  they  feared  for  his  health.1  Norbert,  on  his 
part,  was  very  eager  to  go  to  Laon,  since  this  would  give 
him  the  opportunity  to  unfold  his  plans  in  detail  to  the 

i  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  who  quotes  from  Vita  B,  Ch.  XIX:  Habens 
in  progenie  matris  suae  quosdam  in  eodem  episcopatu  et  civi- 
tate  propinquos.  Cfr.  Maurit.  du  Pre,  Annales  breves  Ord. 
Praem.  (Namurci,  1886),  p.  1. 

63 


64  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Holy  Father,  to  ask  his  advice  and  get  his  approval  on 
the  carrying  out  of  the  great  work  of  reform. 

Thus  all  three  went  to  Laon.  Here  the  Pope  soon 
greatly  admired  Norbert  and  his  noble  aim,  and  gave 
him  constant  encouragement.  It  is  not  without  reason 
then,  that  one  of  the  early  chroniclers  observes,  that  the 
Premonstratensian  Order  owes  its  origin  to  the  confer- 
ence between  Norbert  and  the  Pope  at  this  time.2  A 
sincere  and  lasting  friendship  sprung  up  also  between 
Norbert  and  the  Bishop.  Bartholomew  will  one  day  be 
considered  the  second  Founder,  so  to  speak,  of  Pre- 
montre.  Before  he  died,  he  had  established  no  less  than 
five  monasteries  for  Norbert  and  his  brethren,  first  hav- 
ing enabled  Norbert  to  found  Premontre.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  words  of  Bartholomew,  written  twenty-four 
years  after  this  first  meeting :  ' '  "We  want  it  to  be  known 
"to  our  people  and  to  posterity  that  in  the  year  of  Our 
"Lord,  1119,  a  man  of  wonderful  piety,  by  the  name  of 
"Norbert,  happened  to  come  to  our  diocese;  that  we,  see- 
ing his  holiness  and  admiring  his  learning  and  elo- 
' '  quence,  forced  him  by  our  entreaties  to  remain  over  win- 
"ter.  The  more  we  associated  with  him,  and  the  oftener 
' '  we  heard  him  speak,  the  more  we  were  refreshed  by  the 
"sweet  odor  of  his  holy  life.  "Winter  being  over,  he  was 
"anxious  to  depart,  but  many  of  the  clergy  and  nobles 
"begged  us  to  retain  him  in  our  diocese,  which  we  also 
"desired  most  earnestly.  By  the  grace  of  God  we  at 
"last  with  great  difficulty  succeeded  in  obtaining  this 
"favor.  ."3 


2  Pertz  XII  Chron.  de  Mailros.  an.  1119. 

3  Barthelemy  de  Vir  by  M.  A.  de  Plorival.,  p.  260.    Cfr.  also 
Le  Paige,  Bibliot.  Ord.  Praem.,  p.  373. 


Norbert  is  Made  Abbot  of  St.  Martin's  at  Laon      65 

At  this  time  there  was  in  the  diocese  of  Laon  an  abbey 
in  which  were  great  and  numerous  abuses,  which  the 
Pope  as  well  as  the  Bishop  was  anxious  to  see  reformed. 
For  this  reason  the  canons  of  St.  Martin,  such  was  the 
abbey  called,  at  the  suggestion  of  both  Pope  and  Bishop, 
elected  Norbert  as  their  abbot.  At  first  the  Saint  stren- 
uously opposed  this  plan  and  refused  the  honor.  He 
said  to  the  Bishop:  "If  I  have  given  up  wealth  and 
opulence  at  Cologne,  was  it  to  come  here  to  find  wealth 
at  the  Chapter  of  Laon  ? ' '  The  good  Bishop  had  recourse 
to  the  Pontiff,  and  when  the  Pope  himself  expressed  his 
desire  that  Norbert  should  take  charge  of  the  abbey,  the 
Saint  replied:  "0  Most  Holy  Father,  you  remember, 
"that  I  have  been  twice  commissioned  to  preach  the 
"Word  of  God,  first  by  the  authority  of  your  predeces- 
"sor,  and  secondly  by  Your  Holiness.  However,  as  I 
"do  not  wish  to  follow  my  own  will,  I  am  ready  to  un- 
dertake this  responsible  work,  but  I  cannot  break  my 
"solemn  engagement  without  great  detriment  to  my 
"soul.  It  is  known  to  Your  Holiness  that  this  my 
"solemn  engagement  is,  that  I  have  chosen  to  lead  with 
' '  God  ?s  help  a  strictly  evangelical  and  apostolic  life.  But 
"since  You  command  me,  I  do  not  refuse  the  task,  pro- 
"vided  the  canons  are  willing  to  live  according  to  my 
"principles  and  follow  my  maxims."  To  this  the  Holy 
Father  replied  that,  in  case  the  canons  should  refuse  to 
do  so,  Norbert  would  be  entirely  free  to  leave  them. 
Upon  this  condition,  then,  Norbert  undertook  the  re- 
form of  the  abbey  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours. 

We  already  know  that  our  Saint  had  received  from 
God  a  special  gift  for  bringing  about  peace  even  where 
discord  reigned  supreme.  However,  it  is  not  always  in 
the  power  of  the  physician  to  heal.  Nothing  is  more 


66  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

difficult  than  to  reform  an  institution,  whatever  its  na- 
ture, where  laxity  in  regard  to  the  observance  of  the 
rules  has  crept  in.  According  to  the  words  of  Peter  the 
Venerable,  it  is  even  far  easier  to  found  a  new  monastery 
than  to  reform  one  where  the  rules  are  not  observed. 
Norbert  undoubtedly  knew  this,  but  acting  under  obed- 
ience, he  went  to  the  abbey. 

Being  duly  installed,  he  began  his  reform  by  trying  to 
re-establish  canonical  life  among  the  clerics,  and  by 
showing  them  daily  by  word  and  example  how  to  ob- 
serve the  duties  of  their  state  of  life.  Holding  up  to 
them  the  Gospel  and  their  own  Constitutions,  he  ex- 
plained how  their  eternal  salvation  depended  on  the 
faithful  observance  of  both.  At  first  the  canons  lis- 
tened to  him  respectfully,  but  when  Norbert  attempted 
to  carry  his  words  into  action,  they  said:  "Nolumus 
hunc  super  nos"  .  .  .  "We  do  not  want  such  a  master/' 
and  they  refused  to  change  their  manner  of  living.  After 
a  stay  of  three  months  Norbert  saw  conditions  to  be 
hopeless,  and  begged  the  Bishop  to  release  him  from  his 
office.  He  was  determined  to  leave  not  only  the  abbey 
of  St.  Martin  but  also  the  diocese  of  Laon.  However, 
Bishop  Bartholomew  prevailed  on  him  to  change  the 
latter  plan.  In  the  old  MS.  Life  we  read  that  the  Bishop 
actually  begged  the  Saint  to  stay,  and  offered  him  all 
possible  inducements.4  First  he  asked  him  to  come  to 
live  with  him  in  his  palace,  but  by  this  time  Norbert  had 
a  particular  horror  of  palaces.  When  the  Saint  further 
explained  his  desire  for  solitude,  the  good  Bishop  an- 
swered: "In  the  diocese  of  Laon  there  are  many  des- 
erts and  solitudes,  which  I  will  show  you.  Choose  the 


4  Vita  J5,  Ch.  XIX. 


Norbert 's  First  Coming  to  Premontre  67 

one  that  pleases  you,  and  it  will  be  yours."  Here  again 
we  see  divine  Providence  leading  Norbert  to  the  place 
where  he  was  to  found  a  new  Religious  Order.  As  we 
have  seen,  Norbert  had  really  failed  in  his  efforts  to  re- 
form existing  conditions,  first  among  the  canons  of 
Xanten  and  now  among  those  of  Laon.  Still  determined 
to  carry  out  his  work  of  reform,  there  was  only  one  way 
open  to  him,  namely,  to  create  new  canons  according  to 
his  own  ideals. 

As  the  Bishop  had  promised,  as  soon  as  the  weather 
permitted,  he  daily  accompanied  Norbert  in  search  of  a 
quiet  and  suitable  place.  They  first  visited  Foigny,  a 
charming  and  delightful  spot.  When  Bartholomew 
asked  Norbert 's  opinion  of  it,  he  replied,  that  having 
consulted  not  his  own  judgment  but  God  in  prayer,  he 
knew  that  Foigny  was  not  the  place  that  God  had  des- 
tined for  him.  Neither  was  Thenailles,  nor  several 
other  places  which  they  visited.  Finally  they  came  into 
the  forest  of  Coucy.  Here  they  reached  a  deep  marshy 
valley,  named  Premontre,  covered  with  thorns  and 
brush,  where  the  waters  from  the  mountains  gathered. 
There  was  in  this  retreat  a  little  chapel  built  by  the 
Benedictine  monks  of  St.  Vincent's  Abbey  of  Laon, 
and  dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Baptist ;  but  it  had  fallen 
into  ruin.  Still  in  this  little  chapel  the  Bishop  and  Nor- 
bert entered  to  pray. 

Norbert  was  at  once  seized  by  the  spirit  of  God,  and 
when  after  a  long  time  the  Bishop  wished  to  tell  him 
that  night  was  drawing  near,  he  found  him  in  ecstasy, 
entirely  lost  to  the  world  around  him.  When  the  Saint 
did  come  to  himself,  the  Bishop  asked  him  if  this,  at 
last,  was  the  place.  "Lord  and  Father,"  replied  Nor- 
bert, "let  us  praise  the  Almighty.  I  have  found  a  solitude 


68  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

according  to  my  heart.  This  is  the  place  which  it  has 
pleased  God  to  prepare  for  me  from  all  eternity."  He 
further  begged  the  Bishop  to  be  allowed  to  spend  the 
night  there  in  prayer,  and  Bartholomew  returned  alone 
to  Anizy,  a  castle  about  nine  miles  from  Laon. 

Once  alone  in  the  poor  little  chapel  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  far  away  from  the  noise  of  the  world  and  in 
the  darkness  of  the  night,  our  Saint  poured  forth  his 
heartfelt  thanks  to  God.  Oh!  how  fervently  he  must 
have  prayed,  for  during  the  night  the  heavens  were 
opened  to  him,  and  the  Blessed  Virgin,  surrounded  by 
angels,  appeared  to  him,  illuminating  the  poor  chapel 
with  a  heavenly  light !  In  very  truth  she  came  to  direct 
him  in  the  founding  of  his  Order  and  to  tell  him  that 
his  prayers  were  heard.  She  indicated  the  place  where 
the  first  house  of  the  Order  should  be  built ;  and,  showing 
him  a  white  habit,  said  to  him:  "Receive  my  son,  the 
white  habit."  The  Queen  of  heaven  then  disappeared.5 

The  Saint,  with  glowing  heart,  beheld 

The  radiant  Queen  who  said: 
"Take  thou  this  sign  of  grace,  my  child," 

As  o'er  his  bending  head 
She  held  the  snowy  habit.    .    .    . 

Thus  the  night  passed  quickly,  and  before  Norbert 
was  aware  of  it,  Bartholomew  stood  at  his  side,  anxious 
to  know  how  God  had  inspired  him  in  that  long  night 
of  prayer.  Radiant  with  joy,  Norbert  exclaimed,  "This 


s  Thus  Le  Paige  Biblioth.  Ord.  Praem.,  p.  372.— Hanegra- 
vius,  p.  15 — and  many  others.  In  1625  Theod.  Galleus  repro- 
duced this  Apparition  in  a  beautiful  picture;  and,  besides,  this 
scene  is  often  referred  to  in  different  official  documents  con- 
cerning the  Order. 


THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN  APPEARS  TO   SAINT  NORBERT 


The  Origin  of  fke  Name  of  Premontre  69 

"is  the  place  of  ray  rest  and  the  haven  of  my  salvation. 
' '  Here  I  must  sing  the  praises  of  the  Lord,  together  with 
"faithful  companions,  whom  God  will  send  me.  I  have 
' '  seen  during  my  prayer  a  multitude  of  pilgrims,  clothed 
"in  white  robes,  carrying  in  their  hands  silver  crosses 
"and  censers,  pointing  out  to  me  the  place  where  God 
"wishes  to  have  a  church  built  in  His  honor." 

The  good  Bishop  was  greatly  pleased  with  all  that 
Norbert  related,  and  gladly  promised  to  procure  for  him 
the  possession  of  Premontre  from  the  abbot  of  St.  Vin- 
cent, to  whom  it  belonged.  They  then  returned  to  Laon. 
Norbert  had,  since  the  Council  of  Fritzlar,  worn  a  gray 
woolen  habit,  but  at  this  time  he  took  the  white  habit, 
which  he  received  from  the  hands  of  Bishop  Bartholo- 
mew.6 

It  was  not  without  a  special  design  on  the  part  of 
divine  Providence  that,  among  so  many  solitary  places  in 
the  diocese  of  Laon,  the  Saint  should  have  selected  the 
desert  of  Premontre  as  the  cradle  of  the  Order.  Heaven, 
which  had  inspired  him  in  this  first  choice,  showed  hereby 
that  the  Order,  which  was  to  have  penance  for  its  por- 
tion and  preaching  for  its  occupation,  would  most  fit- 
tingly take  its  birth  in  a  solitude  dedicated  to  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  the  model-preacher  of  penance.  Again,  the 
very  name  Premontre — Praemonstratum — Pratum  Mon- 
stratum,  means  a  place  foreshown.  Many  of  the  his- 
torians seem  inclined  to  think  that  the  Saint  himself 
originated  this  name  in  remembrance  of  his  vision. 


eLe  Paige,  ibidem.  Cfr.  also  De  Waghenaere,  "Vita  Sancti 
Norberti  metro  libera.,"  p.  19.  Both  relate  this  event,  adding 
that  it  took  place  on  the  feast  of  the  Conversion  of  St.  Paul — 
Jan.  25— in  the  year  1120. 


70  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Others,  and  among  them  Blessed  Hugh  himself,  affirm 
that  the  place  was  thus  popularly  called  long  before 
Norbert's  coming.  Some  even  give  us  the  origin  of  the 
name  in  relating  the  following  story,  which,  however,  Bl. 
Hugh,  in  his  ' '  Vita, ' '  ^considers  a  fable. 

They  tell  us  that  at  one  time  there  was  a  lion  doing 
considerable  damage  in  that  part  of  the  country.  In 
vain  had  the  people  tried  to  kill  him,  when  Enguerrand  I, 
of  Coucy,  resolved  to  find  him  and  free  the  country  of 
this  dangerous  intruder.  He  inquired  of  a  hermit  where 
the  lion  was.  All  at  once  he  saw  him  very  close  by,  and 
exclaimed:  "De  par  saint  Jean,  tu  me  Pas  de  pres 
montre."  Hence,  they  say,  the  name  Premontre.7 

At  any  rate,  ever  since  the  time  of  St.  Norbert,  his 
canons  have  been  distinguished  from  others  by  this  name 
of  Premontre.  In  history  they  are  sometimes  referred 
to  as  Norbertines,  as  for  instance,  in  the  life  of  St.  Otho 
of  Bamberg,  but  the  more  common  historic  name  is 
Premonstratensians.  In  England,  however,  until  the 
time  of  their  suppression  by  Henry  VIII,  they  were  gen- 
erally known  by  the  name  of  "White  Canons. " 

Norbert  actually  took  possession  of  his  dear  solitude 
in  the  year  1120.  His  community  was  small,  to  be 
sure,  but  the  Saint  knew  he  was  carrying  out  the  will 
of  God,  and  abandoned  the  future  entirely  to  divine 
Providence.  As  St.  Ignatius  observes,  the  foundation 
of  a  Religious  Order  is  too  sublime  to  be  a  human  work. 


7  There  are  MSS.  kept  in  the  archives  of  the  department  of 
Aisne,  according  to  which  this  story  is  no  fable.  They  tell 
that  Enguerrand,  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  this  dangerous 
hunt,  established  in  his  domains  the  Order  of  the  Lion.  Cfr. 
Madelaine. 


Bishop  Bartholomeiv  Obtains  the  Property         71 

And  no  doubt  this  is  why  God  has  shown  to  nearly  all 
Founders  of  Religious  Orders  the  very  spot  where  the 
first  house  of  the  order  was  to  be  built.  Read,  for  in- 
stance, the  lives  of  St.  Romuald — St.  Robert  of  Citeaux 
— Bl.  Bernard  of  Tiron, — all  these  had  visions  in  which 
God  pointed  out  to  them  the  very  place  of  their  first 
foundation.  Then  we  must  not  overlook  the  part  God's 
Mother  also  took  in  the  foundation  of  Norbert's  Order, 
as  related  above. 

The  chapel  and  the  surrounding  country,  of  which  Nor- 
bert  had  now  taken  possession,  had  at  one  time  belonged 
to  the  Bishop  of  Laon.  One  of  Bartholomew's  predeces- 
sors had  donated  it  to  the  Benedictine  monks  of  St.  Vin- 
cent's Abbey.8  These  monks  had  tried  for  years  to  cul- 
tivate the  valley,  but  without  success.  So  when  the 
Bishop  asked  the  Abbot  and  his  monks  for  the  property, 
they  very  willingly  returned  it,  especially  since  the 
Bishop  offered  them  in  exchange  the  altar  of  Berry-au- 
Brac  and  a  half  bushel  of  wheat  from  the  mill  of  Ban- 
court.  These  details  we  know  from  a  charter  given  by 


s  St.  Bernard  says  in  one  of  his  letters  (253)  that  he  him- 
self is  the  giver  of  the  land  of  Premontre.  S.  J.  Eales,  in  his 
"Life  and  Works  of  St.  Bernard,"  observes  in  a  footnote  to 
this  letter:  "What  St.  Bernard  says  here  about  the  ground 
"being  given  by  him  seems  at  variance  with  the  letters  of 
"foundation  of  Premontre  given  in  the  name  of  Bartholomew, 
"Bishop  of  Laon,  in  which  the  place  in  question  is  said  to  have 
"belonged  to  the  monks  of  St.  Vincent,  and  to  have  been  given 
"by  Bartholomew  to  Norbert.  However,  this  seeming  contra- 
diction is  explained  when  we  remember  that  Hugh,  in  rebuild- 
ing the  monastery  of  Premontre,  had  transferred  it  to  the 
"other  side  of  a  mountain.  The  first  site  may  thus  have  been 
"given  by  the  monks  of  St.  Vincent  and  the  second  by  Ber- 
"nard." 


72  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

the  Bishop  to  Premontre  nearly  a  year  later.9  The  first 
agreement  therefore  must  have  been  a  verbal  one. 

After  Norbert  and  his  two  companions  were  estab- 
lished in  Premontre,  they  came  in  contact  with  a  priest 
by  the  name  of  Guy,  Guido  or  Wido,  who  was  leading 
in  that  vicinity  the  life  of  a  hermit.10  He  had  led  for 
some  years  a  dissipated  life,  but  now  wore  a  religious 
habit  and  lived  hidden  in  this  desert  to  do  penance  for 
his  sins.  After  meeting  our  Saint  he  went  deeper  into 
the  forests  in  the  direction  of  Valenciennes,  and  for  three 
years  lived  all  alone.  One  day,  however,  he  is  to  be  the 
founder  of  the  illustrious  Norbertine  abbey  of  Vicogne. 

The  question  is  discussed  by  different  historians  as 
to  whether  St.  Norbert  at  this  time  had  really  any  defi- 
nite idea  as  to  the  kind  of  life  and  the  work  of  the  new 
Order  he  was  now  bringing  into  existence.  Most 
of  them  agree  that  he  did  not,  and  this  seems  very  likely. 
Ever  since  the  day  of  his  conversion  his  object  had  been 
"BefornL"  His  aim  in  going  to  live  at  Premontre  was 
beyond  doubt  that  he  and  his  disciples  might  lead  a  life 
of  penance,  and  make  this  their  center  of  true  mission- 
ary labors.  The  exact  means  and  ways  of  attaining 
his  object  he  left  to  Divine  Providence. 

God  had  thus  far  led  him  out  of  his  own  country  arid 
brought  him  among  strangers.  When  Norbert  had  come 
to  Premontre,  God  had  made  known  to  him  that  this 
was  the  place  destined  for  him,  prepared  from  all  eter- 
nity. We  may  therefore  say  that  Norbert  at  this  time 
was  simply  awaiting  further  developments  of  his  provi- 
dential mission. 


s  Cfr.  next  chapter  where  Charter  is  given. 
10  St.  Bernard  refers  to  this  priest  in  the  letter  quoted  above 
(253). 


SECOND  PERIOD. 


From  the  time  the  Order  is  founded  until 
Norbert  becomes  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg. 

1120-1126. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    FOUNDER. 

Praemonstratensem  radiis  Crux  fulgida  monstrat, 
Et  peregrinorum  plurima  turba  locum. 

.    .    .    And  robed  in  light, 
The  Savior  meets  the  raptured  sight, 
To  show,  by  seven-fold  rays,  the  place 
Where  Norbert's  band — a  chosen  race, 
Shall  dwell.    ... 

Life  at  Premontre  was  begun  by  a  most  fervent  re- 
treat, at  the  end  of  which  Norbert  left  to  go  in  search 
of  disciples.  No  doubt  it  seems  strange  to  us  for  the 
Saint  to  go  out  begging  recruits  for  his  new  foundation. 
Such,  however,  was  not  unusual  in  those  days,  for  his- 
tory tells  us  that,  at  the  time  Norbert  was  trying  to  find 
disciples,  St.  Bernard  was  preaching  at  the  University 
of  Paris  with  the  same  purpose  in  view. 

By  the  advice  of  Bishop  Bartholomew  Norbert  went 
first  to  the  celebrated  school  of  Ralph  of  Laon. 
Here  he  spoke  with  his  usual  eloquence  on  the  vanity 
of  the  world,  and  drew  a  vivid  picture  of  the  greatness 
of  the  religious  life,  urging  his  hearers  to  follow  him. 
His  words  so  touched  the  hearts  of  his  audience  that 
seven  young  men — all  sons  of  the  best  families  of  Lor- 
raine— decided  at  once  to  yield  to  him,  and  become  his 
disciples  at  Premontre.1 

This  first  unexpected  success  greatly  encouraged  Nor- 
bert, who  considered  it  an  unmistakable  sign  of  God's 


Pertz.  Script.  XII,  p.  657 — de  Mirac.  S.  Mariae  Laudun. 

*    74 


The  Monastery  is  Robbed  75 

blessing  on  his  work.  The  seven  new  disciples  were  all 
sons  of  wealthy  families,  and  their  wealth  would  cer- 
tainly be  a  great  help  in  the  erection  of  a  monastery 
and  church.  How  truly  providential  it  all  was!  In 
spirit  Norbert  already  beheld  the  realization  of  his  vision 
on  the  first  night  in  the  little  chapel  of  Premontre.  Who 
could  describe  his  feelings  of  gratitude  when  he  knelt 
once  more  in  this  same  poor  chapel,  to  spend  another 
night  in  fervent  prayer !  A  great  trial,  however,  awaited 
him.  The  reader  will  perhaps  remember  the  mysterious 
words  Norbert  had  heard  on  his  way  from  Rheims.  Al- 
though two  disciples  were  with  him  at  the  time,  a  voice 
was  heard  distinctly  saying:  "Behold  Norbert  and  his 
companion!"  None  of  the  three  then  understood  the 
meaning,  but  all  will  be  very  clear  now,  as  one  of  the 
first  two  disciples  is  about  to  prove  false. 

Upon  returning  from  Laon,  Norbert  had  placed  all 
the  money  of  the  new  postulants  behind  the  altar  in  the 
little  chapel.  What  reason  Norbert  had  for  suspecting 
a  certain  young  novice  we  do  not  know,  but  it  is  certain 
that  the  Saint  mistrusted  him.  Norbert  said  to  him: 
' '  Is  there  anything  wrong,  my  brother  ?  What  evil  plan 
has  entered  your  heart?  Tell  me  what  you  are  hiding 
from  me.  If  it  is  God  you  seek,  remember  that  there 
can  be  nothing  hidden  before  His  eyes."  Norbert  clear- 
ly hinted  here  at  some  crime.  But  the  young  disciple 
persevered  in  his  evil  design,  and  one  night,  after  tak- 
ing all  the  money,  fled  from  the  abbey,  leaving  the 
brethren  penniless.2  We  can  imagine  the  surprise  of 


2  Such  is  the  version  of  this  incident  as  found  in  Vita  B,  Ch. 
XXVI,  "De  quodam  novitio  qui  viro  Dei  fraudulenter  adhae- 
serat."  Also  in  Acta  SS.  T.  XX,  p.  851,  note  1. — Hermann  and 


76  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

all  next  morning,  when  everything  was  found  out.  Still, 
instead  of  discouraging  the  young  community,  this 
event  only  served  to  make  them  more  dependent  on  Di- 
vine Providence.  Norbert  even  reproached  himself  for 
having  entertained  any  feelings  of  joy  at  the  acquisi- 
tion of  wealth.  Had  they  not  in  fact  renounced  all  their 
earthly  possessions?  "God  will  provide"  became,  from 
now  on,  their  watchword,  and  their  peace  remained  un- 
disturbed. 

Norbert  spent  the  rest  of  the  winter  in  Premontre, 
daily  instructing  the  new  disciples  in  the  practice  of 
monastic  virtues,  and  trying  at  the  same  time  to  awaken 
in  their  hearts  a  desire  for  the  apostolic  life.  In  early 
spring,  however,  he  entrusted  the  young  community  to 
the  care  of  Hugh,  and  he  himself  resumed  his  apostolic 
labors,  with  the  view  of  again  gathering  more  disciples. 

He  first  went  to  Cambray,  the  episcopal  see  of  his 
dear  friend,  Bishop  Burchard.  Having  explained  the^ 
purpose  of  his  visit,  he  asked  and  obtained  the  good 
Bishop 's  permission  to  speak  in  the  cathedral.  Here  also 
some  young  men  decided  to  renounce  the  world  and 
follow  hint  to  Premontre.  Among  these  was  a  young 
man,  Evermode  by  name,  of  about  twenty  years  of  age, 
"He  thought,"  says  the  early  biographer,  "that,  when 
he  was  listening  to  the  sermon  of  Norbert,  he  heard  the 
voice  of  Jesus  Christ  Himself  inviting  him  to  the  re- 
ligious life."  This  same  young  man  is  to  be  Norbert 's 
constant  companion  and  most  beloved  disciple;  he  is 


other  historians  tell  us  thpt  St.  Norbert  had  entrusted  the 
money  to  the  young  man,  who  on  the  very  first  night  fled  with 
it;  therefore  they  do  not  mention  the  warning  the  Saint  had 
given  him. 


The  First  Norbertines  77 

the  future  saintly  Bishop  of  Ratzeburg,  who  will  receive 
in  Norbert's  dying  hour  the  last  words  of  our  Saint. 

Leaving  Cambray,  Norbert  passed  once  more  through 
Hainault  and  Brabant,  following  the  same  road  he  had 
passed  nearly  two  years  before,  preaching  by  word  and 
example,  and  converting  many  hardened  sinners.  When 
he  came  to  Nivelles,  a  small  village  known  from  the  life 
and  tomb  of  St.  Gertrude,  another  young  man  named 
Anthony,  offered  himself  to  follow  Norbert.  One  day  he 
will  be  Provost  of  Ilbenstadt.  The  three  thus  far  named — 
Hugh,  Evermode  and  Anthony,  are,  as  later  events  will 
prove,  to  be  real  cornerstones  of  the  spiritual  structure 
Norbert  is  now  raising  for  God's  glory. 

The  Saint  returned  to  Premontre  during  Passion  week 
of  the  year  1121,  and  celebrated  Easter,  surrounded  by 
thirteen  disciples.  Besides  the  three  already  mentioned, 
there  was  Gualterus  or  Gautier,  who  is  yet  to  be  abbot 
of  St.  Martin  at  Laon,  where  Norbert  himself  had  been 
for  three  months ;  later  he  will  be  bishop  of  the  diocese. 
Then  there  was  Milo,  a  true  model  of  humility,  who  one 
day  will  be  abbot  of  Saint-Josse-au-Bois,  or  Dommartin, 
and  later  bishop  of  Therouanne.  Richard  will  be  the 
first  abbot  of  the  illustratious  abbey  of  Floreffe.  Ger- 
ardus,  one  of  the  Lorraine  converts,  will  be  prior  of 
Premontre  and  later  abbot  of  Clairefontaine.  Adam, 
who  was  born  at  Metz,  also  one  of  the  seven  students  of 
Laon,  will  succeed  Milo  as  abbot  of  Dommartin.  Then 
there  was  another  Richard,  who  is  to  be  the  first  abbot  of 
Sainte-Marie-au-Bois.  Waltman  will  go  with  Norbert 
to  Antwerp  as  an  apostle  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
and  be  the  first  abbot  of  St.  Michael  in  that  place.  One 
by  the  name  of  Guarin  will  one  day  govern  the  abbey 
of  Vicogne,  and  later  the  abbey  of  St.  Martin  at  Laon. 


78  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

Henry  will  die  as  abbot  of  Viviers,  later  Valsery,  in  the 
diocese  of  Soissons ;  the  last,  Luc  by  name,  will  be  abbot 
of  Mount  Cornillon  at  Liege. 

This  little  community  in  its  first  fervor  was  full  of 
the  spirit  of  Norbert.  Milo  is  known  to  have  excelled 
in  humility,  Adam  was  known  for  his  great  zeal  to  do 
honor  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  Guarin  was  called  the  ser- 
vant of  the  poor,  and  of  Luc  we  read  that  he  was  a 
strong  promoter  of  devotion  to  the  Guardian  Angel. 
Henry,  who  like  Norbert  was  also  of  a  noble  family, 
followed  our  Saint  most  closely  in  the  practice  of  every 
virtue. 

On  Norbert 's  return  all  began  a  fervent  retreat  to 
prepare  themselves  for  the  solemn  reception  of  the  habit 
on  Easter  Sunday.  The  good  Bishop  Bartholomew  came 
in  person  to  Premontre  to  assist  at  the  solemnities. 
"Bishop  Bartholomew  had  first  brought  them  to  Pre- 
montre, and  now  they  all  received  from  his  hands  the 
white  habit,  like  the  one  Our  Lady  had  shown  to  St. 
Norbert;  thus  they  began  their  pious  exercise  on  the 
feast  of  Easter."3 

On  the  glorious  Easter  morning  of  the  year  1121,  the 
Bishop,  St.  Norbert,  and  his  thirteen  disciples  entered 
the  poor  little  chapel  of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  The  birth- 
day of  the  Order  had  arrived.  What  must  have  been 
Norbert 's  inner  joy  as  he  watched  his  spiritual  children 
approach  the  good  Bishop  one  by  one,  and  receive  from 
his  hands  the  white  habit !  Simple  as  the  ceremony  must 
have  been,  we  dare  say,  that  never  afterwards,  even 
amidst  the  splendor  of  costly  decorations,  was  the  re- 


s  Cfr.  Camus.  L'homme  apostolique,  p.  109. 


The  Charter  of  Foundation  79 

ception  of  the  habit  more  solemn  and  impressive  than 
on  that  memorable  morning.  His  Bishop,  the  Holy  Fa- 
ther, and  as  we  have  seen,  the  Lord  Himself,  seemed 
crowning  his  efforts  with  great  success. 

When  the  glorious  ceremony  was  over,  Bishop  Bar- 
tholomew had  a  surprise  in  store  for  Norbert,  and  calling 
the  brethren  together  he  handed  over  to  the  Saint  the 
solemn  deed  of  the  property  at  Premontre.  As  this  deed 
might  be  considered  the  foundation  Charter  of  the  Or- 
der, we  shall  give  here  a  translation  of  it : 

"In  the  name  of  the  Holy  and  Indivisible  Trinity.  To 
"all,  present  and  to  come,  we  wish  to  have  it  known, 
"that  I,  Bartholomew,  Bishop  of  Laon,  have  given  to 
"Norbert,  a  man  worthy  of  all  respect,  whose  religious 
"fervor  is  known  to  all,  and  also  to  his  successors,  who 
"will  live  in  their  holy  vocation,  our  territory  of  Hu- 
"bertpont  whole  and  entire,  free  from  all  rent,  from  the 
"place  which  is  called  Halierpre  to  the  valley  Rohard, 
"with  the  three  valleys  bordering  on  the  latter,  to  begin 
' '  at  the  river  from  the  side  of  Yois,  all  as  freehold.  We 
"give  them  this  territory  to  build  thereon  a  church  and 
"a  monastery  in  honor  of  God  and  the  Holy  Mother 
"of  God.  The  pastures  and  meadows,  from  Hubert- 
"pont  to  Molnantvoisin,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  will 
"at  all  times  be,  in  common  with  the  people  of  the  vil- 
"lage,  for  the  use  of  their  cattle.  The  farmers  of  the 
"neighborhood  shall  have  the  right  to  cut  on  the  moun- 
"  tains  all  the  wood  necessary  for  ploughs  and  wheels. 
"The  brethren  shall  be  exempted  in  all  the  above-men- 
"tioned  places  from  all  rights  of  tenths  or  feudal  rights, 
' '  and  from  all  parochial  jurisdiction ;  and  the  hermits  of 
"the  forests  will  be  subjected  to  them.  .  .  . 


80  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

"We  also  wish  it  known  to  all,  that  the  church  of 
"Premontre  with  the  surrounding  territory  was  given 
"by  my  predecessor,  Helinand,  to  the  church  of  St.  Vin- 
"cent;  but  since  in  these  latter  days  all  this  was  in 
"a  state  of  ruin,  the*  Abbot  Siegfried  and  the  convent 
"of  St.  Vincent  have  thought  it  well  to  return  this  prop- 
"erty  to  us;  and  this  they  did.  We,  not  knowing  what 
"better  we  could  do,  have  given  the  whole  property,  free 
"forever  from  all  extortions,  to  the  venerable  Norbert 
"and  his  successors,  faithful  in  their  holy  vocation,  on 
"condition  that  they  will  not  have  with  them  any  lay- 
"man,  but  only  persons  leading  the  religious  life.  We 
"also  give  forever  and  as  a  freehold  to  the  same  breth- 
"ren  living  religiously,  the  hills  which  surround  the  val- 
"ley  of  Premontre.  All  this  is  done  with  the  consent  of 
"Thomas  de  Marie,  who  for  the  ransom  of  his  soul  has 
"renounced  his  claims  to  two  parts  of  the  tenths  on  the 
"above-mentioned  immovable  property,  and  all  his  rights 
"and  the  rights  of  his  foresters,  Girelme  de  Yauscillon, 
"Kaoul  de  Quincy  and  Raoul  of  Coucy-la-Ville.  This 
* '  same  Thomas  has  given  to  the  brethren  a  piece  of  land 
"at  Rosieres,  for  cultivation.  Besides,  we  have  with  the 
"consent  of  all,  closed  up  the  road  by  which  the  neigh- 
"bors  passed  through  the  valley  of  Premontre  to  go  to 
"church 

"We  have  furthermore  given  to  the  brethren  three 
"pieces  of  land,  one  at  Anizy,  near  our  ' villa,'  one  at 
"Versigny,  and  the  third  on  the  mountain  of  Chrevreg- 
"ny  on  the  other  side  of  Aillette.  Whosoever  shall  try 
"to  violate  this  Charter,  let  him  be  anathema,  and  may 
"he  incur  the  wrath  of  the  Most  High  on  the  day  of 
"Judgment." 


Monastic  Life  at  Premontre  81 

Given  in  the  year  of  the  Incarnation,  1121. 
Following  this  are: 

The  seal  of  the  church  of  St.  Mary  at  Laon. 

The  seal  of  Abbot  Siegfried  of  St.  Vincent's.  Fur- 
ther, the  seals  of  Simon,  Abbot  of  St.  Nicolas-au-Bois ; 
Dean  Guy;  Doctor  Raoul,  Archdeacon;  Robert,  Provost 
of  St.  Martin,  and  numerous  other  illustrious  persons.4 

"When  the  solemnities  were  over  and  the  Bishop 
had  left  Premontre,  Norbert  began  at  once  to  establish 
regular  monastic  life  in  his  community.  Around  the 
little  chapel  of  St.  John  huts  or  tents  were  built  as  tem- 
porary quarters,  and  the  singing  of  the  Divine  Office 
began  on  that  very  day.  The  strictest  fast  was  observed 
by  all,  and  when  not  occupied  in  the  recital  of  the  Office, 
the  brethren  spent  nearly  all  their  time  in  manual  labor. 
This  was  necessary  not  only  to  make  the  place  habitable 
but  also  as  a  means  of  support,  for  since  the  day  they 
had  been  robbed,  they  had  depended  entirely  on  the  lib- 
erality of  Bishop  Bartholomew. 

To  enable  his  young  disciples  to  suffer  all  kinds  of 
hardships  and  privations,  Norbert  himself  led  the  way 
in  everything.  Every  morning  and  evening  he  assem- 
bled the  brethren  in  the  little  chapel  and  gave  them  fa- 
therly advice.  After  the  morning  instruction  all  went 
to  work  on  the  "huts"  or  "tents,"  with  Norbert  always 
the  hardest  worker  among  them;  thus  he  encouraged 
all  by  word  and  example.  Inexperienced  as  these  young 
novices  were  in  the  ways  of  religious  life,  they  had  a  good 


4  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  153,  who  further  quotes  Hugo,  An- 
nales  Ord.  Praem.  I  Probat,  col.  VI.  The  document  is  pre- 
served in  the  Library  of  Soissons. 


82  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

will  and  a  childlike  confidence  in  the  superior  wisdom 
of  their  spiritual  father. 

Written  rules  there  were  none  at  the  time;  the  will 
of  Norbert  was  the  rule  of  life  for  all.  The  Saint  fully 
realized  that  without  a  written  constitution  his  Order 
could  not  be  lasting,  therefore  he  warned  his  disciples  re- 
peatedly that  the  Evangelical  Counsels  needed  an  in- 
terpretation to  make  uniform  religious  life  possible.  But 
as  the  Saint  said,  he  mistrusted  himself  in  this  all  im- 
portant matter  of  selecting  a  Eule.  The  wise  and  pious 
men  to  whom  Norbert  went  for  advice,  did  not  agree. 
Some  advised  him  to  follow  the  Eule  of  the  Carthusians, 
others  that  of  the  Benedictines;  again,  others  spoke  to 
him  of  the  Cistercian  Kule.  But  none  of  these  Rules 
wholly  satisfied  our  Saint.  Norbert  himself  was  a  "  Can- 
on ' '  and  he  wanted  his  followers  to  be  "  Canons. ' '  And 
since  the  clerical  state  was  at  that  time  only  accidental 
to  the  monastic  Orders,  he  refused  to  follow  their  rule 
of  life  because  incompatible  with  his  ideals.  How  often 
had  he  on  his  missionary  tours  realized  the  crying  need 
of  good  and  holy  priests;  consequently  he  wished  his 
Order  to  be  an  Order  of  good  priests,  not  of  monks.  He 
wished  his  disciples,  like  himself,  to  go  out  preaching. 
They  were  often  to  live  in  the  world  yet  not  be  of  the 
world.  Again,  they  were  to  perform  parochial  work 
outside  their  monasteries,  and  all  this  was  at  that  time 
contrary  to  the  rules  of  monks. 

Besides,  as  we  have  remarked,  canonical  life  was  at 
this  particular  time  undergoing  a  great  reform.  A  sep- 
aration had  come  between  those  canons  who  lived  in 
common  and  others  who  lived  in  separate  houses.  St. 
Augustine  had  in  his  time  made  rules  regulating  this 
condition  in  his  own  diocese,  and  in  the  ninth  century 


Norbert  and  Peter  Abelard  83 

at  the  Council  of  Aachen,  the  common  life  for  canons 
had  been  recommended.  There  were  places,  to  be  sure, 
where  St.  Augustine's  Rule  was  partly  observed  by 
canons,  but  nowhere,  it  seems,  in  all  its  strictness.  Nor- 
bert therefore  made  a  thorough  study  of  this  Rule  and 
thought  very  seriously  at  this  time  of  adopting  it,  and 
of  adding  the  monastic  customs  as  far  as  they  were  help- 
ful, and  did  not  interfere  with  the  performance  of 
priestly  duties.  Yet  he  remained  undecided,  and  after 
fervent  prayers  resolved  to  open  his  mind  on  this  point 
with  great  frankness  to  his  disciples.  He  told  them  that 
he  had  consulted  learned  bishops  and  holy  abbots;  that 
by  some  he  had  been  advised  to  lead  an  eremitical  life, 
by  others  a  monastic  .life,  or  else  to  join  the  Cistercian 
Order.  He  added  that  if  he  knew  it  to  be  the  will  of 
God,  he  should  follow  his  own  inclination  and  lead  the 
canonical  life  of  the  Apostles.  In  order  to  know  then 
the  Holy  Will  of  God,  he  asked  them  to  redouble  their 
prayers  and  acts  of  mortification,  and  to  implore  the 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  this  so  important  a  mat- 
ter. For  the  present  Norbert 's  will,  directed  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  was  to  remain  their  daily  rule  of  life. 

Meanwhile  a  Synod  was  being  held  at  Soissons  over 
which  Cuno,  Bishop  of  Preneste  and  Papal  Legate,  pre- 
sided. The  reader  has  already  made  his  acquaintance 
at  the  Council  of  Fritzlar.  The  principal  question  to 
be  considered  at  this  Synod  was  the  orthodoxy  of  Peter 
Abelard. 

Peter  was  a  highly  gifted  scholar  and  had  a  host  of 
followers,  but  he  was  also  proud  and  haughty,  and  his 
novel  views,  especially  on  the  Blessed  Trinity,  had 
brought  him  in  conflict  with  the  authorities  of  the 
Church.  St.  Bernard,  who  has  the  well-deserved  dis- 


84  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

tinction  of  having  been  Abelard 's  ablest  opponent,  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  present  at  this  Synod,5  and  it  fell 
to  Norbert  to  use  his  deep  learning  in  exposing  this 
clever  heretic.  How  well  the  Saint  succeeded  in  this 
we  may  safely  judge  from  the  amount  of  abuse,  which 
after  the  Synod,  Abelard  began  to  heap  on  our  Saint 
and  his  followers. 

Abelard  complains  bitterly  in  his  subsequent  sermons 
and  writings  of  all  he  has  to  suffer  from  Norbert.  The 
certain  "new  apostles,"  of  whom  he  speaks  in  the  "Story 
of  my  Calamities, ' '  are  Norbert  and  Bernard.  We  shall 
quote  a  passage  from  "Peter  Abelard,"  by  Jos.  McCabe, 
to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  deep  hatred  of  Abelard 
for  Norbert,  and  the  contemptible  means  he  used  to 
lessen  Norbert 's  influence  with  the  people.  "We  read: 

' '  The  other  new  Apostle  was  St.  Norbert,  the  founder 
of  the  Premonstratensian  Canons.  He  had  fruitlessly 
endeavored  to  reform  the  existing  order  of  Canons,  and 
had  then  withdrawn  to  form  a  kind  of  monastery  of  Can- 
ons at  Premontre,  not  far  from  Laon  where  he  occasion- 
ally visited  Anselm.  His  disciples  entered  zealously  into 
the  task  of  policing  the  country.  No  disorder  in  faith  or 
morals  escaped  their  notice;  and  although  Norbert  was 
far  behind  Bernard  in  political  ability,  the  man  who 
incurred  his  pious  wrath  was  in  an  unenviable  position. 
He  had  influence  with  the  prelates  of  the  Church,  on 
account  of  his  reforms  and  the  sanctity  of  his  life;  he 
had  a  profound  influence  over  the  common  people,  not 


s  Cfr.  "The  Works  of  St.  Bernard,"  edited  by  S.  J.  Eales,  D. 
C.  L. — General  Preface,  p.  49:  "First,  we  will  commence  by 
observing  that  long  before  the  collision  with  Bernard,  he 
(Abelard)  had  been  cited  by  Conon  ...  to  the  Council  of 
Soissons,  in  1121." 


Norbert,  the  Saint  of  His  Age  85 

only  through  his  stirring  sermons,  but  also  through  the 
miracles  he  wrought.  Abelard  frequently  bases  his  ra- 
tionalistic work  on  the  fact,  which  he  always  assumes 
to  be  uncontroverted,  that  the  age  of  miracles  is  over. 
Norbert,  on  the  contrary,  let  it  be  distinctly  understood 
that  he  was  a  tfoaumaturgus  of  large  practice.  Abelard 
ridiculed  his  pretensions  and  the  stories  told  of  him. 
Even  in  his  later  sermons  we  find  him  scornfully  'ex- 
posing' the  miracles  of  Norbert  and  his  companions. 
They  used  to  slip  medicament  unobserved  into  the 
food  of  the  sick,  he  says,  and  accept  the  glory  of  the 
miracle  if  the  fever  was  cured.  They  even  attempted  to 
raise  the  dead  to  life ;  and  when  the  corpse  retained  its 
hideous  rigidity,  after  they  had  lain  long  hours  in  prayer 
in  the  sanctuary,  they  would  turn  around  on  the  simple 
folk  in  the  church  and  upbraid  them  for  their  little 
faith.  This  poor  trickery  was  the  chief  source  of  the 
power  of  the  Premonstratensian  Canons  over  the  people. 
Abelard  could  not  expose  and  ridicule  it  with  impunity 
.  .  .  ."  etc.6 

"We  have  quoted  at  length  because  these  invectives 
of  Abelard  against  Norbert  show  incidentally  that  Nor- 
bert was  truly  the  Saint  of  his  age  and  very  popular 
with  the  people,  while  Abelard  feared  him  and  sought 
to  injure  his  reputation.  But  all  his  abuse  had  the  very 
opposite  effect  from  what  he  expected,  as  will  be  clearly 
seen  later  from  some  extracts  from  contemporary 
writers,  concerning  Norbert. 

At  the  Synod  of  Soissons  Norbert  learned  of  the  sad 
ravages  the  Catharist  heresy  was  making  everywhere, 
and  took  the  firm  resolutions  to  oppose  these  heretics 


"Peter  Abelard/'  by  Jos.  McCabe,  p.  219,  et  seq. 


86  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

with  all  his  might.  Soon  we  shall  find  him  in  Belgium 
carrying  out  this  resolution  by  fighting  the  heresy  of 
Tanchelm,  whose  teachings  were  based  on  the  Catharist 
doctrine. 

After  the  Synod  Norbert  intended  to  return  at  once 
to  his  brethren  at  Premontre.  However,  he  was  detained 
by  the  Bishop  to  exercise  his  favorite  missionary  work, 
that  of  peacemaker.  Not  far  from  Soissons  was  the 
abbey  of  Viviers,  whose  Abbot  Henry  had  placed  him- 
self under  the  direction  of  Norbert  with  the  intention 
of  introducing  into  his  abbey  the  Saint's  reforms.7  At 
the  time  there  was  a  certain  Hugh,  Lord  of  La  Ferte- 
Milon,  who  had  laid  a  sacrilegious  hand  on  the  property 
of  the  abbey,  and  though  a  married  layman,  had  pro- 
claimed himself  abbot.  Norbert 's  aid  was  invoked  by 
the  Bishop  and  Abbot  to  induce  Hugh  to  terminate  this 
scandalous  state  of  things.  After  asking  God's  help  in 
fervent  prayer,  the  Saint  set  out  on  this  his  favorite 
mission.  Having  won  Hugh's  confidence  by  his  usual 
kindness,  Norbert  fearlessly  showed  him  the  conse- 
quences of  his  perfidious  conduct,  and  actually  succeeded 
in  bringing  him  to  sign  an  act  of  restitution,  a  copy  of 
which  is  still  preserved.8  In  it  we  read:  "Lisiard, 
Bishop  of  Soissons,  wishes  it  to  be  known  to  all  that  the 
quasi-abbot  Hugh  and  his  wife  .  .  .  upon  the  advice 
of  master  Norbert,  a  man  well  known  for  his  piety,  have 
returned  to  Abbot  Henry  and  his  brethren  the  church 
of  Viviers  and  all  the  possessions  belonging  to  it. ' '  When 

7  Thus  says  Le  Paige,  o.  c.,  p.  454.  According  to  other  writ- 
ers this  Abbot  Henry  did  not  join  the  Premonstratensian  Or- 
der till  about  three  years  later. 

s  Thus  Path.  G.  Vanden  Elsen  O.  Praem.  in  his  "Het  leven 
van  den  H.  Norbertus,"  p.  64. 


Norbert 's  Numerous  Converts  87 

Hugh  had  signed  the  document  the  Saint  restored  him 
to  God's  friendship.  One  more  splendid  proof  of  Nor- 
bert  's  power  over  the  hearts  of  sinners !  For  if  it  is  al- 
ways a  very  difficult  task  to  convert  public  sinners,  it 
must  be  more  so  when  there  is  question  of  restitution. 

It  is  truly  regrettable  that  so  few  instances  of  this  kind 
in  his  life  have  come  down  to  us.  Only  here  and  there 
we  find  a  few  scattered  details  recorded  by  the  early 
biographer.  Yet  nothing  surely  could  be  more  edifying 
than  some  of  the  life-stories  of  his  numerous  converts. 
We  can  form  some  idea  of  their  number  when  we  con- 
sider, that  during  the  next  six  years  Norbert  is  able  to 
build  monasteries  seemingly  everywhere,  while  the  re- 
quired funds  are  forthcoming  without  difficulty.  This 
financial  aid  he  must  have  received  from  the  numerous 
wealthy  lords  whom  he  brought  back  to  the  practice  of 
their  religion.  The  following  chapters  will  show  that 
among  them  Norbert  found  a  great  number  of  recruits 
for  these  monasteries. 


CHAPTER  II. 
TRIALS. 

Obsesso  stygias  e  Corpore  saepe  Cohortes, 
Orel  Norbertus  Caeca  sub  antra  fugat. 

Then 

The  demon  fled  the  tortured  souls  of  men 
At  thy  desire. 

Norbert  was  very  anxious  to  find  followers  for  his 
new  foundations,  and  so  whenever  anyone  offered  him- 
self, expressing  the  wish  to  lead  a  more  perfect  life, 
the  invariable  practice  of  our  Saint  was  to  give  him  a 
trial.  Old  and  young,  poor  and  wealthy,  men  as  well 
as  women,  had  thus  in  great  numbers  become  his  dis- 
ciples. In  fact,  very  shortly  after  founding  a  house  for 
the  training  of  priests,  Norbert  also  made  provisions  for 
a  house  for  Sisters.  Apostolic  men  at  the  end  of  the 
eleventh  and  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century,  while 
establishing  abbeys  for  religious,  did  not  think  it  proper 
to  deprive  women  of  the  blessings  of  religious  life.  They 
opened  houses  for  them,  and  these  places  were  then 
called  ' '  double  monasteries. ' '  The  most  celebrated  among 
these  was  the  house  of  Fontevrault,  founded  by  Robert 
d'Abrissel,  where  the  abbess  exercised  authority  not  only 
over  the  Sisters  but  also  over  the  men  of  the  Institute. 
These  double  monasteries  usually  consisted  of  two  dis- 
tinct monasteries  separated  by  walls,  but  within  one  en- 
closure. The  religious  were  in  reality  but  neighbors  and 
their  church  and  house,  as  all  else,  were  entirely  distinct, 
so  that  there  was  a  complete  separation.1 

iMadelaine,  p.  159-160,  who  further  quotes  A.  Lenoir,  "Ar- 
chitecture monast."     1861,  p.  474-478.    Monast.  double. 

88 


The  First  Norbertine  Sister  89 

The  first  woman  who  placed  herself  under  Norbert's 
spiritual  direction  was  a  noble  lady  of  Vermandois,  Ric- 
vere  by  name,  the  widow  of  Eaymond  of  Clastres.2  She 
had  given  part  of  her  property  for  the  sustenance  of 
Norbert's  brethren,  and  she  herself  lived  in  a  poor  little 
hut  near-by  to  care  for  the  sick.  In  due  time  Norbert 
gave  her  the  white  habit  and  the  veil,  and  thus  her  little 
hut  became  the  cradle  of  the  Second  Order  of  St.  Nor- 
bert, which  flourished  for  centuries,  and  exists  to  this 
day  in  different  parts  of  the  world. 

In  consequence  of  Norbert's  practice  of  allowing  one 
to  enter  his  monastery  to  try  himself,  several  unworthy 
members,  that  is,  without  a  vocation,  had  entered  the 
young  community.  Hence  it  cannot  cause  great  surprise 
to  find  that,  during  the  Saint's  absence  at  the  Synod 
of  Soissons,  the  evil  spirit  had  caused  disturbances 
among  the  brethren.  As  soon  as  Norbert,  on  his  return, 
reached  his  beloved  valley  there  arose  a  great  tempest 
during  which  God  revealed  to  him  the  pitiful  state  in 
which  the  community  was  at  Premontre.  He  learned 
that  some  of  the  disciples,  who  had  come  with  him  from 
Nivelles  where  he  had  also  found  his  beloved  Anthony, 
had  become  dissatisfied  and  left.  They  had  now  re- 
turned to  that  place,  and  still  under  Satan's  influence, 
were  trying  to  justify  their  own  conduct  by  calumni- 
ating Norbert  and  the  brethren.  They  spread  false 
rumors  about  them  and  even  accused  Norbert  of  being 
a  deceiver. 


2Cfr.  Acta  Sanctorum  T.  CXI,  p.  52:  "Eo  tempore  .  .  . 
quaedam  nobilis  mulier  Rycwera  nomine,  uxor  Raymond!  de 
Clastris,  in  praedictum  locum,  conversions  gratia,  se  con- 
tulit 


90  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

Besides,  at  Premontre,  there  was  a  young  religions 
named  Gerard,  who  had  been  a  model  of  piety  and  obe- 
dience, but  now,  having  listened  to  the  suggestions  of 
Satan,  to  the  great  scandal  of  all  the  brethren,  pub- 
licly broke  the  Lenten  fast  and  abstinence,  which  at  all 
times  was  strictly  observed.  Upon  his  return  Nor- 
bert  went  at  once  to  this  young  religious,  embraced 
him  with  the  affection  of  a  father,  but  at  the  same  time 
punished  him  with  the  severity  of  a  judge.  Gerard  wil- 
lingly accepted  the  penance  Norbert  imposed  on  him, 
overcame  the  enemy,  and  again  became  a  model  of  vir- 
tue, and  worthy  to  be  one  day,  the  first  abbot  of  Claire- 
Fontaine.  Further,  with  the  Saint's  return  rest  and  quiet 
was  at  once  restored  to  the  community.  Norbert  then 
remained  for  some  time  at  Premontre  instructing,  and 
encouraging  his  spiritual  children  in  the  constant  prac- 
tice of  virtue.  His  favorite  topic  was  the  confidence  in 
God  one  ought  to  have  in  his  struggles  with  the  evil 
spirit.  ' '  Qui  Deum  habet  pro  se,  turbatur  in  nulla  re, ' ' 
1 '  One  who  has  God  on  his  side  will  never  be  disturbed  by 
anything, ' '  was  one  of  his  most  frequent  sayings.  Know- 
ing that  Satan  would  do  all  in  his  power  to  frustrate  the 
good  work  at  Premontre,  Norbert  greatly  insisted  on 
childlike  confidence  in  God. 

Towards  the  end  of  April  he  considered  the  young 
community  strong  enough  to  be  left  alone,  and  decided 
on  another  missionary  journey.  He  went  towards  Ni- 
velles,  and  on  the  road  thither  had  the  happiness  of  rec- 
onciling not  only  two  inveterate  enemies,  but  numerous 
sinners  with  God.  The  people  at  Nivelles,  however, 
seemed  quite  hostile  to  him,  as  a  result  of  the  calumnies 
spread  by  his  former  disciples,  and  some  reproached 
him  bitterly.  But,  accustomed  to  all  kinds  of  insults, 


Nor~bert  at  Nivelles  91 

the  Saint  did  not  even  attempt  to  justify  himself.  He 
bore  the  results  of  these  calumnies  with  great  patience 
and  resignation,  and  left  his  vindication  entirely  to 
Divine  Providence,  in  Whose  fields  he  labored.  Since 
he  came  not  to  gain  the  favor  of  the  people  but  to  lead 
their  souls  to  God,  he  inwardly  rejoiced  to  be  found 
worthy  to  suffer  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  God, 
Who  constantly  watched  over  the  Saint,  soon  found 
means  to  restore  Norbert  to  honor  and  good  name,  and 
to  bring  his  calumniators  to  shame. 

There  was  a  young  girl  in  Nivelles  who  for  years  had 
been  possessed  by  the  evil  one.  She  often  became  so  un- 
manageable that  they  had  to  tie  her  with  ropes  and  lock 
her  in  a  room  by  herself.  She  then  would  get  into  a 
fury,  abuse  all  those  around,  and  become  really  dan- 
gerous. The  young  girl  was  brought  to  the  Saint,  who 
in  all  simplicity  and  full  of  the  liveliest  faith,  read  over 
her  the  exorcisms  as  found  in  the  Roman  Ritual,  but 
seemingly  without  avail.  Ascribing  his  ill  success  to  his 
own  unworthiness,  he  promised  God  to  make  himself 
less  unworthy  by  fasting  and  prayer.  After  passing 
the  whole  night  in  fervent  prayer,  he  sent  word  in  the 
morning  to  the  parents  of  the  unfortunate  girl  to  bring 
her  to  assist  at  his  Mass.  In  the  middle  of  the  Mass, 
in  fact,  at  the  moment  of  the  Elevation,  the  devil  cried 
out  in  a  loud  voice :  ' '  See  how  he  holds  his  God  in  his 
hands. ' ' 3  The  early  biographers  observe  here  that 
devils  are  forced  to  confess  what  heretics  deny.  The 
prayer  of  the  saintly  priest  increased  in  fervor  mean- 
while, and  Satan  exclaimed:  "I  burn,  I  burn,  let  me 


z  Vita  B,  Ch.  XXII:     "Videte,   videte;    ecce   iste    deiculum 
suum  inter  maims  suas  tenet."    Cfr.  also  Camus,  p.  118. 


92  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

go,"  and  the  unclean  spirit  with  loud  protestations  left 
his  victim,  and  the  poor  girl  remained  lying  on  the  floor 
like  one  dead.  This  happened  publicly  before  a  large 
crowd  of  people.4  When  at  the  end  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice 
she  had  regained  consciousness,  Norbert  restored  the 
girl  to  her  parents,  who  were  full  of  gratitude  to  him, 
and  the  people,  in  the  highest  admiration  for  the  man 
of  God,  proclaimed  anew  his  power  and  holiness  of  life. 
This  event  is  thus  narrated  in  all  its  details  in  the  ear- 
liest biography  of  the  Saint.  That  it  took  place  under 
the  very  eyes  of  a  great  multitude,  who  in  their  en- 
thusiasm sang  the  "Te  Deum"  to  thank  God  for  His 
goodness  manifested  through  Norbert,  was  clearly  the 
work  of  Divine  Providence,  for  Norbert 's  reputation 
was  at  once  vindicated,  and  his  calumniators  put  to 
shame. 

But  Satan,  conquered  by  Norbert  at  Nivelles,  began 
to  use  all  his  power  to  cause  disturbances  in  the  young 
community  at  Premontre.  He  worked  on  the  natural 
pride  and  self-will  of  some  and  frequently  succeeded 
in  making  the  life  of  the  young  novice  very  trying. 
Soon  after  the  event  at  Nivelles  we  read  in  the  Annals 
of  Premontre,  that  a  poor  boy,  whose  father  was  a  lay- 
brother  in  the  monastery,  became  possessed.  As  the  boy 
was  quite  violent  at  times,  the  brethren  were  greatly 
disturbed,  and  knew  not  what  to  do.  After  holding 
council,  they  decided  to  lock  him  in  a  room  and  await 
the  return  of  their  Father  Norbert.  But  the  Prior  took 
great  pity  on  the  boy  and  commanded  all  to  pray  fer- 
vently. He  then  took  his  Ritual,  read  the  prayers  given, 

4  Ibidem.  Hoc  ita  publice  factum  est,  teste  omni  populo. 
Cfr.  Pertz  Sigeb.  contin.  Praem.  T.  VI,  p.  448. 


Norbert 's  Devotion  to  Relics  93 

and  commanded  the  evil  one  to  depart  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ.  To  their  great  consternation  they  all  heard 
distinctly  these  words :  ' '  Cursed  be  the  hour  that  that 
white  dog  (meaning  Norbert)  was  born."  Still  Satan 
refused  to  give  up  his  prey.  At  last  a  young  and  saintly 
novice,  who  acted  only  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience,  suc- 
ceeded in  putting  the  evil  one  to  flight. 

Soon  Norbert  returned  and  with  him  came  once  more 
happiness  and  rest  to  the  small  community.  The  Saint's 
very  presence  was  more  than  Satan  could  bear.  Every 
one  was  happy  and  contented  whenever  Norbert  was 
around ;  and,  following  his  wise  directions,  all  made  rapid 
progress  in  virtue.  Before  long,  however,  another  diffi- 
culty of  a  more  serious  nature  presented  itself. 

Their  number  had  kept  on  increasing,  and  soon  the 
little  chapel  could  no  longer  suffice  for  so  many  religious. 
All  were  anxious  to  erect  a  beautiful  church,  and  to 
build  it  on  the  spot  pointed  out  to  Norbert  in  his  first 
vision,  by  the  Blessed  Virgin  herself.  Though  the  breth- 
ren had  been  able  to  erect  their  own  little  tents,  the 
building  of  a  church,  worthy  of  the  name,  was  beyond 
them.  There  was  no  lack  of  material  all  around  them, 
but  where  find  able  builders?  Norbert  counted  on  help 
from  above.  He  had  always  had  a  special  devotion  to 
relics,  and  he  reasoned  that  if  he  could  only  procure 
relics  of  Saints,  whom  he  and  his  brethren  would  ven- 
erate, these  Saints  would  undoubtedly  assist  him.  He 
knew  that  Cologne,  the  city  of  his  youth,  possessed 
an  abundance  of  relics,  and  that  a  number  of  artists  and 
builders  were  also  to  be  found  within  its  walls.  Further, 
he  could  rely  entirely  on  the  assistance  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Cologne ;  and,  therefore,  he  decided  once  more 
to  leave  Premontre,  and  to  undertake  the  journey  to  Co- 


94  Jftstory  of  S«M  Xorltrt 

logne.  As  was  his  wont>  he  turned  the  journey  into  a 
real  missionary  tour,  and  found  numerous  opportunities 
of  converting  sinners,  and  winning  new  disciples.  He 
was  so  grateful  to  God  for  his  own  happiness  that  he 
was  anxious  to  have  others  share  in  it. 

The  good  Archbishop  Frederic  was  delighted  indeed 
to  see  his  former  courtier  again,  however  much  he  was 
changed;  and  he  revived  him  with  all  kindness.  His  pres- 
ence soon  became  known  among  the  people,  and  the  name 
of  Norbert  was  once  more  on  the  lips  of  all.  Never  was 
there  a  greater  concourse  of  people  present  than  when  he 
spoke  in  the  old  and  venerable  cathedral.  Since  a  great 
many  remembered  him  only  as  the  young  and  gay  court- 
ier, a  son  of  the  nobility,  his  words,  strengthened  by  his 
appearance,  made  a  very  deep  impression  when  in  his  elo- 
quent way  he  spoke  on  the  vanity  of  the  world  and  the 
necessity  of  doing  penance.  His  confessional  was  cro 
ed  all  day*  as  the  early  biographer  informs  us,  and  no 
less  than  thirty  young  men  renounced  the  world  and 
begged  to  become  his  followers,* 

However,  the  first  object  of  his  journey  was  to  pro- 
cure the  relics  of  saints.  Now  in  attaining  this  object  God 
helped  Norbert  in  a  most  remarkable  way.  When  he 
first  made  known  his  object  to  the  Archbishop,  His  Grace 
as  well  as  his  clergy  and  the  people  were  happy  to  be  able 
to  assist  the  man  of  God  as  a  kind  of  remuneration  for 
his  inestimable  services.  As  was  known  to  everyone, 
the  relies  of  numerous  martyrs  were  hidden  somewhere 
in  the  city  of  Cologne,* 


*  Madeline*  o,  c^  who  quotes  Tm  Ch.  XXIH.  calls  hero  at- 
tention to  the  fret  of  auricular  confession*  a  century  before  the 
fourth  Lateran  Council,    See  p.  166. 
(Peru),  Ch.  XII.. 


Ursula  Appear  $  to  Norbert  v ; 

Norbert  wa*  then  given  not  only  foil  permmbm  to 
search  for  them,  bat  even  men  to  help  Mm  in  his  work, 
and  if  be  succeeded,  he  had  leave  to  take  the  relief  with 
him  to  Premontre*,  The  Saint  noon  had  his  plan*  formed. 
He  prescribed  for  his  new  brethren  a  day  of  strict  fast; 
he  himself  doubled  on  that  da/  hi*  austerities,  and  all 
prayed  with  extraordinary  fervor  that  heaven  would 
guide  them  in  their  diligent  search.  Arid,  wonderful  to 
relate?  the  night  whieh  followed  the  fast,  our  Saint 
had  an  apparition  of  St  Ursula,  who  indicated  to  him 
her  own  burial  place,  hitherto  entirely  unknown,7  This 
happened  during  the  night  between  the  tenth  and  the 
eleventh  of  October,  in  the  year  1121,  nearly  a  thousand 
yean  after  St  Ursula  and  her  holy  Virgins  had  suffered 
martyrdom.  Early  the  next  morning  a  seareh  was  made 
in  the  place  indicated  by  the  apparition,  and  in  reality 
the  body  was  found  in  its  integrity.  With  what  a  trans- 
port of  joy  did  our  Saint  receive  this  precious  treasure! 
Surely  the  blessing  of  Al  mighty  God  was  seen  once  more 
to  rest  visibly  on  Norbert's  undertaking.  During  the 
singing  of  religious  hymns  the  precious  remains  were 
put  in  a  costly  urn,  and  then  given  over  to  the  Saint 
He  further  received  two  reliquaries  containing  notable 
parts  of  the  bodies  of  the  other  virgins.* 

Acting  on  divine  inspiration,  Norbert  went  the  next 
day  to  the  church  of  St.  Gereon,  whose  Provost  at  the 


*  Ibidem:  Reliqufarum  patrocinia  qnibus  ab  antfqtio  replete 
et  dotata  erat  Sancta  Colon  la,  .  .  .  Virgo  ex  tmdecim  mil- 
Hum  .  .  .  et  nomen  virginin  et  locos  matuolei  .  .  .  per 
Ttoionem  cuidam  de»ignatas  e«t  .  *  , 

«  Cfr.  Madelaf n«,  o.  c^  p.  167,    See  also  Cath.  Encyclop^  VoL 

672k:,  where  tbi«  visit  of  St.  Norbert  to  Cologne  is 
tioned  in  connection  with  the  relic*  of  the  sainted  Ewald*. 


96  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

time  was  Hermannus.  He  begged  that  he  be  allowed  to 
dig  under  the  monastery;  because  the  Saint  seemed  to 
know  that  there  were  buried  numerous  martyrs  of  the 
Theban  Legion  of  the  third  century,  and  among  them.  St. 
Gereon  himself,  their  leader.  However  much  surprised 
the  superiors  were,  since  Norbert  was  known  to  them  as 
"an  illustrious  preacher  and  a  great  servant  of  God," 
they  gave  him  their  full  permission.  According  to  his  in- 
variable custom,  before  any  work  of  importance,  the 
Saint  recommended  himself  to  God  and  spent  the  whole 
night  in  fervent  prayer.  Meanwhile  men  were  digging 
the  whole  night  in  the  presence  of  Rudolph,  Abbot  of 
St.  Panthaleon,  (who  had  been  delegated  by  the  Arch- 
bishop himself),  and  of  a  great  many  clerics  and  the 
most  prominent  people  of  Cologne.  But  during  the 
whole  night  they  found  nothing  in  any  way  remarkable. 
At  daybreak  Norbert  himself  came  upon  the  scene,  and 
at  once  gave  orders  to  the  men  to  dig  near  ,a  certain 
pillar  on  the  south  side  of  the  church.  Although  there 
was  no  trace  of  any  sepulchre  there,  the  men  began 
digging  anew,  simply  because  Norbert  told  them  to  do 
so.  And  behold !  before  long  they  came  upon  a  precious 
slab  of  marble.  All  present  were  in  great  admiration, 
and  when  at  last  the  sarcophagus  was  opened  and  they 
saw'  before  their  eyes  a  corpse  bearing  all  the  signs  of 
a  martyr  of  the  Theban  Legion,  their  enthusiasm  knew 
no  bounds,  and  they  freely  shouted  for  joy.9 

The  upper  part  of  the  head  was  missing,  and  hereby 
they  knew  that  it  was  the  body  of  St.  Gereon  himself, 


9  Vita  (Pertz),  Ch.  XII.  "Ubi  nullum  alicujus  sepulchri  pate- 
bat  vestigium  effodi  praecepit.  Ubi  corpus  integrum  absque 
capite  repertum  est.  .  .  .  Cfr.  also  Acta  SS.  Tom.  V.  Oct., 
p.  58.  Rudolphi  epistola:  "Petente  quodam  Dei  servo  et  prae- 


The  People  Fear  for  Their  Relics  97 

for  in  suffering  martyrdom,  the  upper  part  of  his  head 
had  been  cut  off,  which  part  in  fact  had  been  venerated 
for  centuries.  When  it  became  known  in  the  city  that 
the  body  of  St.  Oereon  had  actually  been  found,  clergy 
as  well  as  laity  came  hurrying  in  great  numbers  to  the 
monastery,  and,  deeply  touched,  all  joined  in  loudly 
praising  and  thanking  God  for  His  goodness.  Then  it 
was  whispered  by  someone  that  Norbert  was  to  take  the 
body  with  him  to  Premontre,  and  their  joy  was  at  once 
changed  to  anger.  Loud  protestations  were  heard  from 
all  sides,  until  the  Provost  of  St.  Mary's  mounted  the 
pulpit,  and  to  calm  the  uproar,  promised  the  people 
that  the  Archbishop  was  to  decide  that  question.10  This 
announcement  quieted  the  people,  and  it  was  then  de- 
cided to  leave,  meanwhile,  near  the  tomb  a  guard  to  watch 
day  and  night.  Thus  the  tomb  was  guarded  from  the 
13th  of  October  until  the  24th  of  November.  "On  that 
day,  November  24th,"  continues  Kudolph,  "in  the 
"presence  of  Frederic,  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne,  of 
' '  abbots,  provosts  and  of  all  the  religious  of  the  city,  and 
"  of  an  innumerable  multitude  of  the  laity,  the  tomb  was 
' '  again  opened  with  great  solemnity,  and  the  body  shown 
"to  the  people.  Abbots  and  priests,  vested  in  alb  and 
"stole,  lifted  the  body,  and  collecting  all  the  precious 


"dicatore  magno  Norberto  .  .  .  inter  quos  et  ego  peccator 
"affui  .  .  .  inventum  est  in  eo  corpus  magnum  .  .  .  in- 
"dutum  chlamide  militari  coloris  purpurei  .  .  .  ut  conjicere 
"verius  potuimus,  sic  casu  pertransierat  inter  caput  et  men- 
"turn  persecutor-is  gladius.  .  .  ." 

10  Acta  SS.  1.  c.  Tota  civitas  statim  infremuit  .  .  .  con- 
tradicebaturque  ob  omnibus  domino  Norberto  .  .  .  differ- 
endum  promittente  usque  ad  praesentiam  dominl  archiepis- 
copi. 


98  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

"  relics  in  a  linen  cloth,  went  in  solemn  procession 
"around  the  church  and  monastery.  Returning  to  the 
"church,  Kudolph  chanted  a  solemn  High  Mass  in 
"honor  of  the  martyrs  of  the  Theban  Legion." 

Norbert  did  not  assist  at  these  solemnities,  for  he  was 
no  longer  in  Cologne.  The  Archbishop,  to  whom,  as  we 
remarked  above,  the  case  had  been  referred,  had  decided 
to  give  Norbert  not  the  whole  body  but  part  of  the 
relics,  and  thus  the  Saint  had  left  the  city  in  the  latter 
part  of  October.11  How  happy  he  was  on  this  return 
journey  to  Premontre,  we  can  easily  imagine.  He  had 
gone  out  in  search  of  relics  of  the  saints,  and  had  ob- 
tained far  more  than  he  had  ever  dared  hope  for;  be- 
sides, he  had  gone  in  search  of  new  disciples,  and  there 
he  was  returning  with  a  contmunity  larger  than  the 
original.  Wherever  he  went,  people  ran  out  of  their 
houses  to  greet  the  man  of  God.  Everywhere  he  was 
received  with  the  greatest  honor,  and  his  journey  was 
truly  one  succession  of  miracles.  Wherever  the  precious 
relics  rested,  God  poured  out  His  divine  blessing  in  abun- 
dance. And  the  people  said:  "These  truly  are  the 
relics  of  Saints  in  the  hand  of  a  Saint."12 

When  Norbert  arrived  in  the  city  of  Namur,  Count 
Godfrey  and  his  wife  Ermensinde,  daughter  of  Conrad 
I,  Count  of  Luxemburg,  came  in  all  haste  to  meet  him 
and  to  venerate  the  relics  which  the  Saint  carried  with 
him.  They  had  heard,  they  said,  that  Norbert  intended 
to  pass  through  their  estates,  and  they  had  therefore 
come  to  express  their  most  ardent  desire  to  receive  him 
and  his  saintly  disciples  under  their  roof.  Norbert  con- 


11  Vita  B,  Ch.  XXIII. 

12  Illana,  p.  69. 


Norbert's  Second  Foundation  99 

sented.  The  Countess  was  so  much  impressed  during  a 
conversation  which  she  held  with  the  Saint,  that  she 
offered  him  her  manor-house  at  Floreffe  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  second  abbey.13  Norbert  accepted  the  offer 
and  remained  some  days  to  regulate  conditions  for  this 
second  foundation,  and  at  the  same  time  to  satisfy  the 
piety  of  his  distinguished  hosts.  In  the  course  of  time 
Godfrey,  the  Count,  will  really  renounce  the  world  and 
all  his  possessions  and  become  a  humble  lay-brother  in 
this  abbey,  which  he  is  now  about  to  found;  his  wife 
also  will  one  day  become  a  religious.  As  expressly  stated 
in  the  memorable  deed,  they  donated  their  property  to 
give  satisfaction  to  God  for  their  sins.  Literally  it  reads : 
"In  the  name  of  the  Holy  and  Indivisible  Trinity,  the 
Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  I,  Godfrey,  Count 
of  Namur,  and  the  Countess  Ermensinde,  having  under- 
stood by  the  inspiration  of  the  angel  of  good  counsel, 
that  we  could  expiate  our  sins  in  no  better  way  than  by 
giving  alms  .  .  . "  etc.14 

After  this  prolonged  stay  with  Count  Godfrey,  Nor- 
bert hastened  to  continue  his  journey  to  Premontre, 
where  he  knew  that  the  brethren  were  anxiously  await- 
ing his  return.  But  before  leaving  Floreffe  he  entered 
the  church  and  placed  there  on  the  altar,  part  of  the 
relics  of  St.  Gereon.  In  consequence  of  this  act  the 

13  Vita,  1.  c.  Obnixe  deprecans  ut  quandam  ecclesiolam 
suam  in  villa  Floreffiae  vellet  suscipere.  .  .  .  Cfr.  Cath.  En- 
cycl.  VI,  105. 

n  Hugo  Annales  Ord.  Praem.  I.  Prob.,  col.  XLIX.  Madelaine, 
from  whom  this  quotation  is  taken,  further  observes  that  the 
bodies  of  Godfrey  and  Ermensinde  still  rest  in  the  church  at 
Laon,  under  a  marble  slab,  with  the  following  inscription: 
Godefridus — Ermensindis.  See  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  225. 


100  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

religious  of  Floreffe  have  until  this  last  century,  chanted 
every  year  a  solemn  Mass  of  thanksgiving  for  the  in- 
tention of  the  Canons  of  St.  Gereon's  church  at  Co- 
logne, in  return  for  their  liberality  in  parting  with  these 
precious  relics.  The  remainder  of  his  treasure  Norbert 
carried  with  him  to  Premontre,  where  they  have  since 
been  kept  in.  great  honor  and  constant  veneration.  In 
memory  of  the  event  related  in  this  chapter,  all  Premon- 
tratensians  the  world  over  celebrate  the  feast  of  St. 
Gereon  with  special  solemnity,  and  also  the  feast  of  St. 
Ursula  and  her  holy  virgins. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SOLEMN     PROFESSION. 

Dans  legem  Aurelius  vitae  morumque  Magistram, 
Morigeros  maneant  praemia  quanta  docet. 

St.  Austin  gives  his  hallowed  Rule 
To  train  thy  followers  in  that  school 
Of  holy  life.    .    .    . 

"When  finally  Norbert  arrived  in  Premontre,  accom- 
panied by  his  thirty  new  disciples,  the  joy  of  the  breth- 
ren was  exceedingly  great.  One  could  better  imagine 
than  describe  their  happiness  when  Norbert  showed 
them  the  priceless  relics  he  brought  with  him,  and  spoke 
to  them  of  God's  goodness,  and  of  how  His  blessing  in 
a  visible  manner  had  rested  on  his  undertaking.  Was 
not  this  an  unmistakable  sign  from  heaven  that  the  time 
had  come  for  the  building  of  the  church  they  had 
planned?  Their  numerous  trials  and  hardships  during 
the  Saint's  absence  were  at  once  forgotten,  and,  weep- 
ing for  joy,  they  thanked  God  for  His  goodness.  Nor- 
bert told  the  brethren  of  the  meeting  with  Count  God- 
frey; he  then  sent  a  little  band  of  religious  to  the  new 
foundation.  At  their  head  was  Richard,  one  of  the 
earliest  disciples,  whom  he  appointed  over  the  young 
fraters  Luc,  Emericus  and  Theodoricus.  They  received 
instructions  to  build  at  once  near  the  little  church  of 
Floreffe  a  small  convent,  which,  since  that  time,  has  been 
known  by  the  name  of  "Salve/' 

The  first  thing  now  to  be  done  at  Premontre  was  to 
make  provision  for  the  new  disciples.  Under  Norbert 's 

101 


102'  ' ^ '  :  &istcry:of  Saint  Norbert 

direction  they  began  immediately  to  build  more  huts  and 
tents  of  wood  and  clay,  and  Premontre  took  on  the  as- 
pect of  a  busy  camp.  All  were  diligently  engaged  in 
building,  and  the  huts  were  arranged  around  the 
little  chapel  of  St.  John.  At  this  time  there  were  over 
forty  religious  studying  for  the  holy  priesthood,  besides 
lay-brothers,  whose  number  is  unknown.  Although  all 
had  a  certain  amount  of  appointed  work,  and  were  con- 
stantly and  busily  occupied,  yet  for  their  number,  it 
became  evident  that  a  fixed  rule  of  life  was  indispen- 
sable. Still,  as  heretofore  mentioned,  it  was  most  diffi- 
cult for  Norbert  to  decide  which  rule  to  adopt.  All  had 
been  praying  for  light  from  above,  and  as  to  Norbert, 
even  in  the  midst  of  his  missionary  labors,  the  thought 
had  been  foremost  in  his  mind,  but  thus  far  he  had 
come  to  no  decision.  God,  however,  is  soon  to  manifest 
His  Will  on  this  cardinal  point  of  religious  life. 

One  night,  while  absorbed  in  prayer,  St.  Augustine 
appeared  to  Norbert  in  a  vision  and  advised  the  Saint 
to  adopt  his  Rule.  Listen  to  Norbert  himself  relating 
this  vision,  some  years  later,  to  the  brethren  of  Floreffe 
assembled  in  their  chapter-room.  "I  know,"  he  said, 
"that  St.  Augustine  has  appeared  to  one  of  the  breth- 
"ren,  who  had  been  ordered  to  investigate  with  the 
"greatest  care  concerning  his  Rule;  it  was  not  on  ac- 
" count  of  our  brother's  own  merits,  but  in  answer  to 
"the  prayers  of  all.  St.  Augustine  took  from  his  right 
"side  his  Golden  Rule,  and  handing  it  to  the  brother, 
"said  very  distinctly :  I  am  Augustine,  Bishop  of  Hippo. 
"Behold  here  the  Rule  which  I  have  written;  if  your 
"fellow-brethren,  my  sons,  shall  have  observed  it  well, 
"they  shall  stand  without  fear  in  the  presence  of  Christ 
"on  the  terrible  day  of  the  last  Judgment."  Norbert 


Engraving  by 
Theodore  Gallus    (1622). 


APPARITION   OF   SAINT  AUGUSTINE. 


The  Solemn  Profession  of  the  First  Religious    103 

tried  thus,  no  doubt  through  humility,  to  make  his  dis- 
ciples believe  that  some  other  religious  had  had  this 
vision.  The  brethren,  however,  understood  at  once  that 
no  other  than  himself  was  the  privileged  person.1 

Thus  the  uncertainty  of  the  brethren  in  regard  to  a 
fixed  rule  had  finally  come  to  an  end.  To  the  Rule  of 
St.  Augustine  statutes  were  added  for  the  regulation 
of  their  daily  life.  These  of  course  were  required,  for 
the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine  was  only  as  a  framework,  and 
regulations  regarding  the  special  character  and  object 
of  this  Order  in  particular,  had  to  be  filled  in  to  make 
the  structure  complete.  They  now  had  at  least  a  con- 
stitution on  which  to  base  the  laws  and  rules  regulating 
their  daily  life.  From  that  time  St.  Augustine  has  been 
considered  by  the  Premonstratensians  as  a  second  Foun- 
der, and  held  in  great  honor  by  them.2 

The  solemn  feast  of  Christmas  being  near  at  hand, 
Norbert  considered  the  time  to  have  come  for  the  re- 
ligious to  make  their  Profession.  They,  on  their  part, 
were  very  anxious  to  consecrate  themselves  more  en- 
tirely to  God  by  the  religious  vows,  since  for  this  they 
had  left  the  world.  The  Saint  himself  preached  the  re- 
treat in  preparation  for  the  solemn  occasion,  and  by  his 
heavenly  eloquence  so  enraptured  the  brethren,  observes 


1  Cfr.  Acta  SS.  T.  XX,  p.  846. 

2  Much  has  been  written  about  this  Rule   of   St.   Augustine 
which  is  followed  by  many  religious  Orders.     Did  the  Saint 
really  write  this  Rule?    Is  it  perhaps  his  famous  letter  of  the 
year  423  to  the  Sisters  of  Hippo.?     That  it  was  first  intended 
for  women  seems  beyond  doubt.     Cfr.  Poujoulat.    "Histoire 
de  Saint  Augustin,"  Paris,  1852,  p.  381-382.     Also  S.  Aurel. 
Augustini  opera  omnia  edidit  Migne.  T.  II,  col.  958-965.   Epist. 
CCXI. 


104  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

the  oldest  biographer,  that  they  forgot  their  earthly  ex- 
istence, and  seemed  to  dwell  in  celestial  spheres.3 

It  is  the  solemn  Christmas  night  of  the  year  1121.  Let 
us  picture  the  young  community  consecrating  itself  to 
God,  in  the  poor  chapel  of  Premontre,  by  the  religious 
vows  of  Poverty,  Chastity  and  Obedience.  Listen  to  the 
words  of  Norbert  as  he  addresses  the  brethren  prostrated 
before. God's  altar.  Sweet  and  consoling  are  his  accents 
when,  after  speaking  of  the  strict  obligations  they  are 
about  to  take  upon  themselves,  he  reminds  them  of  the 
reward  "exceedingly  great"  which  awaits  them  in 
heaven.  One  by  one  they  approach  and  all  sign  the 
following  document,  after  having  first  read  it  aloud : 

"I,  Frater  N  .  .,  offer  and  give  myself  to  the  church 
"of  N.  .  and  promise  to  change  my  morals,  better  my 
"life,  and  remain  attached  to  this  church.  I  also  prom- 
ise Poverty,  Chastity  and  perfect  Obedience  in  Christ, 
' '  according  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ  and  the  Rule  of  St. 
"Augustine,  to  you,  Father  .  .  .  and  your  successors, 
"whom  the  Convent  of  this  church,  according  to  the 
"form  of  the  Order,  will  canonically  elect  or  receive."4 

Dec.  25,  1121,  was  thus  the  real  birthday  of  the 
Premonstratensian  Order,  and  from  the  bosom  of  the 

s  Vita  B,  Ch.  XII.  Velut  equila  operibus  praemonstrabat 
plerumque  mentis  excessu  raptus  .  .  .  Ch.  XXVI.  In  tanto 
mentis  excessu  rapti  sunt.  .  .  .  (Vita  A.)  Cfr.  further 
Camus.  L'homme  apostolique,  p.  130. 

*  This  formula  is  used  at  present.  One  from  the  thirteenth 
century  found  in  the  Archives  of  the  abbey  of  Grimberghen 
(Belgium)  differs  slightly  as  follows:  .  .  .  Successors  can- 
onically elected  by  the  sanest  part  of  the  community.  Cfr. 
Madelaine,  p.  177. 


The  Object  of  the  Norbertine  Order  105 

Church  militant,  rent  by  schism  and  internal  strife, 
sprung  a  new  religious  family  destined  to  defend  and 
protect  her.  "Do  not  overlook,"  one  of  the  early 
writers  observes,  "the  part  Almighty  God  had  in  the 
birth  of  this  Order.  Heaven  determined  the  very  place 
where  the  center  of  the  Order  was  to  be,  the  habit  the 
brethren  were  to  wear,  the  rule  which  was  to  regulate 
their  life."5 

Here  the  reader  may  wish  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  real  object  and  the  distinctive  character  of  the  Pre- 
monstratensian  Order.  Its  first  and  main  aim  is  the 
formation  of  canons  regular,  that  is,  monastic  priests. 
In  his  "Tableau  des  Institutions  et  les  Moeurs  de 
1'Eglise  au  moyen  age,"  the  historian  Hurter,  gives  us 
in  a  few  words  the  exact  idea  of  the  Holy  Founder,  say- 
ing: "His  aim  was  to  unite  both  the  active  and  the  con- 
"templative  life;  for  it  was  less  his  intention  to  found 
"a  religious  order  than  to  institute  canons  of  a  more 
"regular  life  .  .  .  they  were  to  explain  to  the  ignorant 
"the  articles  of  faith,  preach  penance,  refute  heretics, 
"and  fulfill  pastoral  duties  when  imposed  on  them.  .  .  . 
"Still,  the  cenobitical  and  conventual  life  was  the  foun- 
dation of  their  institution.  Norbert  flattered  himself 
"that  his  successors  would  acquire  in  retreat  the  force 
"and  necessary  knowledge  to  work  with  greater  vigor 
"and  success  in  the  Lord's  vineyard.  Then  from  time 
"to  time  they  were  to  come  back  to  the  "solitude  of  the 
"monastery,  and  leave  it  again  armed  with  new  forces."6 


sCfr.  De  Hertoghe  "Religio  canonicorum  Ordinis  Praemon- 
stratensis,"  p.  87,  et  seq. 

6  Hurter  "Tableau,"  etc.  T.  II,  p.  468.  Paris,  1843.  Cfr.  also 
Hugo  "La  Vie  de  Saint  Norbert,"  liv.,  II,  p.  99. 


106  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Norbert 's  disciples,  consequently,  were  to  be  neither 
secular  canons  nor  monks.  As  a  religious  order,7  the 
Premonstratensian  Order  has  this  in  common  with  all 
other  Orders,  that  it  places  its  members  by  the  pro- 
fession of  the  three  vows,  in  a  state  of  perfection.  As  a 
canonical  order,  it  adds  to  the  religious  state  the  clerical 
dignity,  and  attaches  its  members  to  a  particular  church 
(stabilitas  ,in  loco).  Almost  from  the  very  beginning 
the  Order  included  the  three  following  classes  or 
branches:  1.  Priests  or  Clerics  under  an  Abbot  or  Pro- 
vost. These  are,  in  the  strict  sense,  the  canons  regular. 
2.  Sisters  who  embrace  the  rule  of  life  as  laid  down  by 
Norbert;  and  3.  People  living  in  the  world  who  wear 
the  white  scapular  underneath  their  secular  dress,  and 
conform  themselves  to  the  spirit  of  the  Order.  Both 
clerics  and  nuns  pass  through  a  novitiate  of  two  years 
before  taking  the  simple  perpetual  vows;  and,  three 
years  later,  they  take  the  solemn  vows.  In  the  monas- 
teries of  the  priests  as  well  as  of  the  nuns,  there  were 
from  the  very  beginning  lay-brothers  and  lay-sisters, 
who  also  made1  perpetual  vows.  As  to  the  Oblates 
or  Donates,  who  offer  themselves  to  the  Order,  they  make 
only  temporary  vows.  We  quote  here  a  modern  writer 
on  the  Premonstratensian  Order:  "St.  Norbert,  by  the 
"institution  of  the  canons  regular,  enkindled  in  the 
"heart  of  the  Catholic  Church  a  furnace  of  uninter- 
"rupted  prayers  and  an  everlasting  apostolate.  By  the 
"institution  of  Norbertine  Nuns,  he  opened  to  weak 
"women  a  living  source  of  devotedness  and  self-sacrifice. 
1 '  And  lastly,  by  the  institution  of  the  Third  Order  in  the 
"midst  of  the  stream  of  temporal  anxieties,  he  has  in- 

7  "Life  of  St.  Norbert,"  by  Geudens.     See  Introduction. 


The  Special  Characteristics  of  the  Norlertines    107 

"troduced  the  religious  life  into  the  circle  of  the  fam- 
"ily  .    .    ."  etc.8 

Besides  these  objects,  there  is  the  particular  one  which 
at  all  times  has  distinguished  the  Premonstratensian  Or- 
der from  other  Canonical  Orders,  as  e.  g.,  the  Canons 
Regular  of  the  Lateran,  of  St.  Rufus,  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
etc.,  and  that  is,  1.  To  spread  and  increase  devotion  to  the 
Blessed  Sacrament;  and  2,  a  filial  devotion  to  God's  Im- 
maculate Mother.  These  special  characteristics  of  the 
Norbertine  Order  "are,  first  of  all,  vividly  illustrated  in 
the  life  of  its  holy  Founder.  St.  Norbert  is  usually  rep- 
resented in  engravings,  painting  and  statues,  holding  in 
his  hand  a  Monstrance,  while  the  heretic  Tanchelm  lies 
prostrate  at  his  feet.  The  Monstrance  is  the  emblem  of 
his  devotion  to  the  Holy  Eucharist,  and  the  prostrate 
heretic  points  to  Norbert 's  great  victory  over  the  Sac- 
ramentarian  heresy  in  Antwerp.  Norbert  mjoreover  con- 
stantly inculcated  the  all  important  precept  of  great 
cleanliness  about  the  altar,  especially  in  the  celebration 
of  the  divine  mysteries;  "for,  on  the  altar,"  said  he,  "we 
show  our  faith,  as  also  our  love  of  God."  He,  himself, 
never  undertook  any  important  work  without  first  offer- 
ing up  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  and  spending  hours 
in  prayer,  prostrate  before  the  altar.  The  very  first 
chapter  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Order  has  for  its  title 
uDe  tremendo  altaris  Sacramento,"  and  explains  how 
to  derive  from  the  Blessed  Eucharist  true  zeal  for  the 
salvation  of  souls. 


s  See  Ferdinand  Duhayon,  S.  J.,  in  "La  mine  d'Or,"  Ch.  5 — 
Tiers  Ordre  de  St.  Norbert. — The  first  member  of  the  Third 
Order  of  St.  Norbert  was  Theobald,  of  whom  we  shall  speak  in 
a  later  chapter.  There  we  shall  also  more  fully  explain  the 
origin  and  the  meaning  of  this  Third  Order. 


108  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

In  regard  to  devotion  to  Our  Lady,  we  read  in  the 
Preface  to  the  Statutes  of  the  Order:  "This  was  the 
true  spirit  of  our  most  holy  Father  Norbert,  and  in  order 
that  his  disciples  should  be  filled  with  the  same  spirit, 
he  wished  them  to  honor  and  venerate  in  the  most  de- 
vout manner  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the  most  Holy 
Mother  of  God,  the  Patroness  and  Protectress  of  the 
whole  Order." 

We  remember  also  that  whilst  Norbert  was  praying 
fervently  in  the  chapel  of  Premontre  on  his  first  visit, 
the  Queen  of  Angels  appeared  to  him  and  told  him  that 
his  prayers  had  been  granted.  She  it  was  who  indicated 
the  place  where  the  first  church  of  the  Order  was  to  be 
built,  and  she  herself  showed  him  the  white  habit.  The 
Koman  Martyrology  commemorates  this  apparition  on 
the  5th  of  August,  saying:  "Eodem  die  apparitio  ejusdem 
"Beatissimae  Virginis  quae  S.  P.  Norberto  canonicum 
'  'Instituti  habitum  in  capella  S.  Joannis  Baptistae  Prae- 
' '  monstrati  ostendit. '  '8a 

Furthermore,  Norbert  himself  composed  an  Office  in 
honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  from  which  the  following 
words  are  taken :  "I  hail  thee,  0  Virgin,  who,  preserved 
"by  the  Holy  Ghost,  hast  triumphed  over  the  formidable 
"sin  of  our  first  parents,  without  being  tainted  by  it." 
In  the  "Monita  Spiritualia"  or  Spiritual  Counsels, 
which  are  said  to  be  extracts  from  the  writings  of  St. 
Norbert,  we  read:  "The  intention  of  the  Mother  of 
1 '  fair  love  in  adorning  us  with  the  white  habit — a  symbol 
"of  purity — was  no  other  than  to  teach  us  a  true  devo- 

8a  On  the  same  day  is  commemorated  the  apparition  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  who,  in  the  chapel  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  at 
Premontre,  showed  our  holy  Father  Norbert  the  canonical 
habit  of  his  Institute. 


The  Order's  Devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin      109 

"tion  to  her  Immaculate  Conception."  Never  did  a 
Saturday  go  by  without  Norbert 's  offering  up  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  in  honor  of  the  Bl.  Virgin;  to  the  Queen  of 
Heaven  he  also  dedicated  the  first  foundation  at  Pre- 
montre. 

Ever  silently  repeating, 
"Love  for  Thee,  and  Thee  alone;" 
Ever,  'mid  dark  shadows,  meeting 
Starlight  from  Our  Lady's  throne; 

Ever  on  her  Aves  dwelling 
When  the  foes  grew  loud  and  strong; 

Ever  from  his  heart  was  swelling 
Mary's  praise  in  one  sweet  song. 


0  St.  Norbert,  may  thy  spirit 

Live  in  us  till  Mary's  hand 
Lead  thy  children  home — for  ever 

Sheltered  in  the  changeless  land.9 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  devotion  to  Our 
Lady,  and  especially  to  her  Immaculate  Conception,  a 
distinguishing  mjark  of  the  Order.  Far  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  its  churches  are  dedicated  to  the  Mother  of  God, 
and  the  lives  of  many  of  its  members  have  been  remark- 
able for  their  tender  devotion  to  Our  Lady.10  More- 

9  Hymn  in  honor  of  St.  Norbert,  by  S.  G.,  taken  from  "Man- 
ual of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Norbert,"  p.  76. 

10  Special  mention  in  this  regard  is  merited  by  Bl.  Herman 
Joseph,  the  chosen  playmate  of  Our  Lord  and  St.  John,  who  is 
known  the  world  over  as  the  great  servant  of  the  Bl.  Virgin. 
He  was  a  Premonstratensian  in  the  abbey  of  Steinfeld,  in  Ger- 
many, and  died  in  the  thirteenth  century.    His  wonderful  life, 
truly  one  act  of  devotion  to  his  heavenly  Mother,  was  written 
in  English  by  Wilfrid  Galway  and  published  in  1878.     (Burns 
&  Gates.) 


110  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

over,  ever  since  the  time  of  its  foundation  all  the  reli- 
gious of  the  Order  have  recited  daily  the  Office  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  in  addition  to  the  Canonical  Office,  and 
every  day  one  Mass  in  each  abbey,  called  "De  Beata," 
is  offered  in  her  honor.  In  the  early  writings,  we  read 
that  the  Premonstratensian  Order  was  sometimes  re- 
ferred to  as  the  Order  of  Mary. 

Although  these  particular  characteristics  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Norbert  are  greatly  emphasized  in  the  Constitu- 
tions, yet  they  do  not  lose  sight  of  the  first  and  most  im- 
portant object,  the  one  great  aim  of  Norbert 's  whole  life, 
the  salvation  of  souls.  In  fact,  the  above-named  char- 
acteristics are  but  means  to  this  end.  "To  reform  the 
people  by  reforming  the  clergy/'  had  been  the  Saint's 
watchword  from  the  very  day  of  his  conversion.  He 
therefore  fully  realized  how  necessary  it  was  to  give  his 
young  disciples  a  solid  clerical  training  and  to  endow 
them,  as  future  parish  priests,  with  both  learning  and 
piety.  In  this,  too,  Norbert  succeeded  so  well  that  he  has 
been  often  spoken  of  as  the  Charles  Borromeo  of  his  day, 
and  in  later  years  his  abbeys  have  been  called  by  popes 
and  bishops  "seminaries  of  missionaries  and  parish 
priests. ' ' 

The  Premonstratensian  Order  had  from  the  beginning 
a  great  number  of  parishes  cared  for  by  her  own 
priests.  Colleges  were  and  are  still  attached  to  many  of 
her  abbeys,  to  prepare  young  men  for  parochial  and 
missionary  work.  In  the  Austrian  Province  to-day  more 
than  seventy  Fathers  are  professors  in  different  colleges ; 
in  South  America  three  seminaries  are  entrusted  to  the 
care  of  the  Norbertines.  Almost  one  of  the  first  things 
the  Fathers  did  on  coming  into  the  United  States 
was  to  build  a  college  in  Wisconsin,  to  prepare  worthy 


The  Active  Life  of  the  Norbertines  111 

priests  according  to  the  heart  of  Norbert.  In  fact  during 
the  eight  hundred  years  of  its  existence,  the  Premon- 
stratensian  Order  has  always  been  engaged  in  parish 
work,  the  teaching  of  youth  and  the  preaching  of  mis- 
sions, the  very  works  to  which  our  Saint  devoted  him- 
self in  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century. 

When  the  Order  was  still  in  its  infancy,  we  read,  that 
Norbert  and  his  followers  were  reproached  because,  hav- 
ing left  the  world  and  retired  to  a  monastery,  they  again 
returned  to  it,  took  charge  of  parishes  and  even  became 
bishops.  As  we  have  observed,  nearly  all  the  first  mem- 
bers of  the  community  of  Premontre  became  bishops, 
and  we  shall  yet  find  Norbert  himself  as  Archbishop  of 
Magdeburg  and  Chancellor  of  the  German  Emperor 
Lothaire.  Moreover,  they  were  all  seen  to  leave  the  mon- 
astery, and  to  go  out  preaching.  These  fault-finders  were 
silenced,  however,  first,  by  the  edifying  and  religious 
conduct  of  the  Fathers  while  away  from  the  monastery ; 
and,  secondly,  because  their  conduct  was  approved 
by  the  most  learned  and  saintly  men  of  those  days.11 
Thus  writes  A.  Miraeus : 

"With  the  Norbertines,  almost  every  abbey  has  some 
parishes  in  charge  of  priests  of  their  own  monastery. 
This  is  entirely  proper  for  that  Order,  and  is  of  great 
benefit  to  the  Church,  especially  when  there  is  such  a 
dearth  of  good  priests.  Therefore  are  the  Norbertine 
monasteries  rightly  called  seminaries  of  pastors  of 
souls."12 

And  Anselm  of  Havelberg,  a  great  admirer  of  Nor- 
bert and  for  many  years  closely  associated  with  him, 


11  Fath.  VandenElsen,  o.  c. 

12  A.  Miraeus  Chronicon  Praem.,  p.  2.  Also  Crusenius,  p.  427. 


112  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

writes:  "You  hold  that  Canons  Regular  ought  not  to 
have  parishes,  and  the  care  of  souls  among  the  people 
.  .  .  every  one  knows  that  according  to  the  Church, 
no  monk  can  be  called  to  any  dignity  or  ministry;  so 
also,  according  to  the  Church,  no  Canon  Regular  can  be 
excluded  from  either."13  He  further  shows  how  a  true 
religious,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  world,  can  keep  the 
religious  spirit,  and  that  he  does  not  necessarily  give  up 
religious  life  when  he  takes  part  in  the  active  ministry. 
Here  we  find  an  exact  reflection  of  the  mind  of  Norbert. 
The  union  of  the  contemplative  and  the  active  life,  was 
to  be  the  life  of  his  followers.  Whenever  not  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  missions,  they  were,  to  use  the  words  of 
the  Saint,  to  come  to  the  monastery  "like  bees  to  gather 
honey,"  that  is,  to  lay  by  treasures  of  spirituality  to  be 
spent  in  the  active  ministry. 

"We  may  add  here  a  few  words  about  the  white  habit 
of  the  Premonstratensians.  We  have  seen  that,  since  the 
Council  of  Fritzlar,  Norbert  had  constantly  worn  a  gray 
woolen  habit.  This  was  the  habit  of  penance  proper  to 
monks,  while  canons  wore  a  white  linen  habit.  Since 
Norbert 's  aim  was  to  combine  the  life  of  the  monk  and 
the  canon,  and  since  the  Bl.  Virgin  herself  had  shown 
him  the  white  habit,  he  and  his  disciples  wore  white 
woolen  habits,  wearing  their  linen  habits  only  around 
the  altar.  He  thus  combined  the  wool  of  the  monk's 
habit  with  the  color  special  to  the  canons.  This  innova- 
tion, as  many  were  pleased  to  call  it,  caused  a  great  deal 
of  disturbance  among  the  monks  as  well  as  among  the 
canons,  as  is  clearly  shown  in  different  letters  of  St. 

is  Cfr.  Dr.  Winter  "Die  Praemonstratenser  .  .  .,"  Ch.  IV. 
Also  Thesaur.  Anecd. 


Disputes  Concerning  the  Religions  Habit        113 

Bernard  to  various  monks.  There  seem  even  to  have 
been  disputes  among  the  early  disciples  themselves  about 
the  shape  and  color  of  the  habit.  In  his  gentle  way  the 
Saint  rebuked  the  latter,  saying:  "If  you  have  disputes 
about  the  color  of  your  habit,  or  the  kind  of  cloth  .  .  . 
must  therefore  the  rule  of  charity  be  broken?"  (Vita  B. 
Ch.  XXV.)  He  also  gave  them  the  reasons,  quoted 
above,  for  adopting  the  white  woolen  habit  and  showed 
them  how  their  habit,  being  the  outward  sign  of  their  in- 
ward vocation,  distinguished  them  as  canons  of  a  mon- 
astic order. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE    MONASTERY. 

Pratum  monstratum  Septena  luce  coruscum 
Ordinis  esse  caput  coepit  ut  octo  loni. 

The  meadow  shown  to  Norbert  by  seven-fold  rays  of  heavenly 
light  becomes  the  center  of  the  Premonstratensian  Order. 

Having  described  in  the  last  chapter  the  general  ob- 
ject and  character  of  the  Premonstratensian  Order,  we 
shall  now  proceed  to  study  the  organization,  or  the  means 
which  Norbert  employed  to  attain  his  object.  After  his 
return  from  Cologne  there  were  about  forty  brethren, 
without  counting  the  lay-brothers,  in  the  primitive  con- 
vent. All  were  animated  with  one  desire,  that  of  serving 
God  in  the  most  perfect  manner;  and  they  had  adopted 
the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine  as  a  basis  on  which  to  regulate 
their  daily  life.  The  actual  regulation  was  entirely  left 
to  the  Saint.  Norbert  was  at  the  head,  but  not  in  the 
ordinary  capacity  of  Superior ;  he  was  the  very  life  and 
soul  of  the  community;  his  will  was  law  and  his  au- 
thority absolute.  Although  one  of  the  earliest  chron- 
iclers of  the  Order  speaks  of  Norbert  as  Abbot,  it  is 
quite  certain  that  the  Saint  firmly  refused  this  title  for 
himself.  He  is  never  mentioned  as  such  in  the  early 
documents,  and  the  monk  Hermann  observes  that  Nor- 
bert refused  this  title  even  in  the  monastery  of  Pre- 
montre.1 


i  Pertz  VI,  p.  459 — Ao.  1121.  Bartholomeus  Laudunenois 
Episcopus  et  Norbertus  Abbas  Praemonstratam  ecclesiam  fun- 
dant.  .  .  .  Acta  SS.  T.  XX.  p.  852:  Etiam  in  Praem.  ecclesia 
Dominus  Norbertus  Abbas  esse  noluit. 

114 


Norbert  and  the  Early  Novices  115 

The  great  responsibility  of  forming  the  early  novices 
rested  on  the  shoulders  of  Norbert  alone.  As  new  dis- 
ciples were  constantly  arriving  at  Premontre,  unworthy 
as  well  as  worthy,  the  Saint  was  quite  strict  with  the 
young  religious.  All  his  time  he  devoted  to  the  study 
of  their  character  and  to  the  testing  of  their  religious 
vocation.  No  records  are  left  to  show  how  many  young 
men  the  Saint  sent  back  to  the  world,  but  the  different 
biographers  agree  that  Norbert  was  constantly  sifting 
the  wheat  from  the  cockle.  How  well  he  succeeded  in 
this  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  zeal  of  the 
brethren  became  such,  that  Norbert,  austere  as  he  was, 
found  himself  obliged  to  moderate  their  fervor. 

The  Saint  never  tired  recommending  to  the  brethren 
his  three  favorite  counsels :  ' '  Cleanliness  about  the  altar, 
"for  on  the  altar  one  proves  the  liveliness  of  his  faith 
"and  the  fervor  of  his  love;  a  humble  confession  of  all 
' '  their  faults  and  negligences,  daily  made  in  the  chapter- 
"  house,  for  this  would  render  their  consciences  purer, 
* '  and  make  them  more  watchful  over  themselves ;  thirdly, 
"love  for  the  poor  and  hospitality  towards  strangers, 
"by  which  they  were  to  prove  their  charity  towards 
"their  neighbor.  A  house  where  these  three  practices 
"are  observed,  he  used  to  say  in  conclusion,  will  never 
"be  in  want."2  And  here  we  may  add  that  Premontre 
soon  experienced  the  truth  of  this  prediction.  This 
abbey  has  ever  been  the  refuge  of  the  poor,  and  the  alms 
thus  given  brought  God's  abundant  blessings  in  return. 

Norbert  instructed  his  disciples  daily,  both  in  the 
morning  and  in  the  evening,  initiating  them  in  the  se- 
crets of  mystic  theology  and  Christian  perfection.  A  few 


2  Vita  B,  Ch.  XXV. 


116  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

of  his  ascetic  maxims  have  come  down  to  us,  and  are,  in  a 
way,  a  reflection  of  his  own  noble  soul.  Thus  he  often 
spoke  of  the  dignity  of  the  Priesthood  in  the  words 
quoted  above.  He  repeatedly  told  the  story  of  his 
life  and  miraculous  conversion,  saying:  "At  Court 
"I  was  never  satisfied;  in  the  monastery  I  have  never 
'•been  dissatisfied.  I  was  frequently  at  the  courts  of 
"princes,  I  possessed  abundant  wealth,  I  did  not  deny 
"myself  the  pleasures  of  the  world;  nevertheless,  be- 
lieve me,  dearest  brethren,  an  abundance  of  worldly 
"goods  is  real  poverty.  Never  was  it  better  for  me  than 
"when  I  was  without  them,  because  entire  freedom 
"from  these  worldly  possessions  gave  me  the  fullness 
"of  heavenly  goods  which  are  more  pleasant  for  their 
"sweetness,  mor©  lasting  for  their  constancy,  better 
"constituted  for  the  satisfaction  they  give  to  the  heart 
"of  man." 

Under  Norbert's  direction  all  proceeded  daily  with 
great  order,  and  soon  a  monastic  regularity  was  ob- 
served by  these  inexperienced  religious.  The  Saint  now 
considered  the  time  to  have  come,  when  one  of  the 
brethren  might  share  with  him  the  great  responsibility 
of  preparing  worthy  ministers  of  God.  He  chose  his 
first  disciple  Hugh  for  this  work,  and  gave  over  to  him 
the  entire  interior  government  of  the  monastery.  It 
was  Hugh's  duty  to  see  that  all  rules  were  daily  ob- 
served, and  also  to  look  after  the  material  welfare  of 
the  religious.  As  their  number  constantly  increased,  the 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  Hugh  became  so  great  that 
after  a  short  time  Norbert  gave  him  assistants.  Al- 
though no  record  is  kept  of  their  names,  we  know  some 
of  these  had  charge  of  the  clerics,  while  others  looked 


Hugh  Rules  in  Norbert's  Absence  117 

after  the  welfare  of  the  lay-brothers.3  In  Norbert's 
absence  Hugh  had  absolute  authority,  and  thus  his 
office  was  that  of  a  present-day  Prior.  Although  Nor- 
bert  refused  the  title  of  Abbot,  de  facto  he  certainly  was 
the  Abbot  of  Premontre ;  the  present  government  of  the 
Premonstratensian  abbeys  is  based  on  this  same  old  plan 
of  organization.  The  Fathers  elect  their  Abbot,  who,  in 
his  turn  appoints  a  Prior  and  the  Prior's  assistants — 
Subprior,  Novicemaster,  Circator. 

As  to  the  daily  life  of  the  early  religious,  none  was 
more  occupied  than  theirs.  The  Constitution  has  from 
the  earliest  times  prescribed  how  to  perform  the  import- 
ant duty  of  singing  the  Divine  Office:  " Since  by  our 
religious  profession  we  are  consecrated  to  sing  night  and 
day  God's  praises,  and  since  by  virtue  of  holy  obedience 
we  have  been  charged  by  the  Church  to  sing  the  Divine 
Office  with  devotion,  attention  and  reverence,  all  must 
take  the  greatest  care  to  prepare  themselves,  in  order  to 
sing  it  with  the  necessary  reverence  and  devotion." 
(Stat.,  Ch.  IV.)  At  midnight,  then,  the  monastic  bell 
called  all  the  religious  to  the  chapel  to  sing  Matins ;  the 
rest  of  the  Office  was  sung  at  stated  hours  during  the 
day.  The  intervening  time  was  spent  in  study  and 
manual  labor.  Norbert  failed  not  to  impress  on  the 
minds  of  his  disciples  the  necessity  of  the  constant  and 
diligent  study  of  Sacred  Letters  and  the  Scriptures. 
The  young  religious  were  all  destined  to  go  out  to 
preach  the  Gospel — to  teach  the  people  their  religion 
— to  argue  with  heretics  and  unbelievers;  therefore 
only  a  most  diligent  study  could  fit  them  for  the  apos- 
tolic duties  of  their  sublime  vocation.  "The  study  of 


Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  187. 


118  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Theology  is  so  indispensable  for  a  Premonstratensian 
religious,  that  he  who  ignores  it  is  a  bastard  and 
ought  to  be  ejected  as  an  illegitimate  son  of  St.  Nor- 
bert."4 A  book  was  written  in  the  eighteenth  century 
by  a  German  Premlonstratensian5  in  which  the  great 
learning  of  Norbert  and  of  eight  of  the  ten  first  dis- 
ciples is  proved  historically.  This  author  further  shows 
that  the  love  for  study,  inspired  by  Norbert,  has  always 
signalized  the  Order.  To  this  subject  we  hope  to  return 
in  the  second  volume. 

It  is  beyond  doubt  that  the  first  clerics  were  also 
obliged  by  the  Saint  to  perform  some  daily  manual 
labor.  According  to  some  historians  it  must  have  been 
Norbert 's  first  idea  to  provide  by  manual  labor  for  the 
material  necessities  of  the  brethren.  In  fact  a  Charter 
of  the  Bishop  of  Laon,  of  the  year  1125,  leaves  hardly 
any  room  for  doubt  on  this  point.  Therein  we  read: 
"It  is  part  of  the  virtue  of  religion  to  love  the  holy  life 
"of  religious  men,  and  with  a  pious  devotedness  to 
"assist  them  in  their  material  necessities.  It  behooves 
"one  to  praise  and  venerate  in  others,  that  which,  on 
"account  of  human  frailty,  he  himself  is  not  able  to 
"imitate.  Thus  in  our  days  a  new  Order,  deep  hidden 
"in  the  woods  of  Voas  at  Premontre,  has  been  founded 
"in  our  diocese  with  our  consent  and  the  help  of  pious 
"people,  by  the  zeal  of  brother  Norbert,  a  most  illus- 
"trious  man,  and  as  far  as  one  is  able  to  judge,  with  the 
"approbation  of  God.  Serving  the  Lord  according  to 
"the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine  and  wearing  the  habit  of 


4  Abad  Illana.  Vida  de  San  Norberto.    Lib.  I.  Ch.  IV,  pp.  57-62. 
s  Spiritus    Literarius    Norbertinus.      Augustae    Vindelicor- 
um,  1771. 


The  Nor'bertines  Working  in  the  Field  119 

"clerics,  the  brethren  proposed  to  lead  an  eremitical  life 
"for  the  sake  of  providing  themselves  with  life's  neces- 
"sities.  We,  however,  anxious  to  recommend  our  weak- 
"ness  to  their  sanctity,  and  desirous  of  being  sustained 
"during  the  storms  of  the  present  life,  and  after  death, 
1 '  by  the  help  of  their  prayers,  have  added  to  all  that  we 
"have  previously  given  them,  our  new  mill  of  Barantel, 
"lately  built  at  our  expense,  for  the  use  of  the  brethren 
"of  this  convent/'6 

Yet  we  read  that  even  after  this  Norbert  prescribed 
for  the  brethren  some  hours  for  manual  labor.  Although 
their  material  welfare  seemed  to  be  provided  for,  the 
Saint  insisted  on  this,  no  doubt,  as  part  of  the  monastic 
discipline,  since  the  Order  was  both  Canonical  and  Mon- 
astic. It  was  especially  in  harvest-time  that  one  saw 
the  brethren  leave  the  monastery,  and  in  strict  silence 
begin  their  work  in  the  fields.  They  then  even  took  their 
noon-meal  there,  sang  Vespers  and  returned  only  at 
night.  The  sick  and  the  Officials  alone  were  dispensed 
from  manual  labor.  Charles  Louis  Hugo,  the  historian 
of  the  Order,  says:  "As  the  penance,  which  Norbert 
had  embraced  after  his  conversion,  was  greater  than  the 
mild  rule  of  Canons  exacted,  so  he  added  to  his  Order 
the  .austerities  of  monasticism  that  his  Order  might  not 
be  wanting  in  that  which  was  found  in  Canonical  and 
Monastic  Orders. " 

Mindful  of  the  words  of  St.  Augustine's  Eule  "Sub- 
due your  flesh  by  fasting  and  abstinence  from  food  and 
drink  as  much  as  your  health  permits,"  Norbert  pre- 


e  Dr.  Winter.    Die  Praemonstratenser.  .  .  .  Ch.  IV.    Also  Fez. 
Thesaurus  Anadectorum.  IV. 


120  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

scribed  far  his  Order  a  continual  abstinence  from  flesh- 
meat  and  an  almost  continual  Lenten  fast.  His  first 
regulations,  however,  were  so  strict  that  Norbert  himself 
mitigated  them  later.  Thus  we  read  in  the  oldest  Stat- 
utes, composed  by  Blessed  Hugh  and  approved  by  Nor- 
bert, that  from  Easter  until  the  feast  of  the  Exaltation 
of  the  Cross,  the  brethren  were  allowed  to  take  two 
meals  a  day.  Entire  abstinence  from  fleshmeat  was  kept 
for  a  much  longer  time,  but  gradually  certain  relaxations 
in  regard  to  this  were  granted.  Thus  at  present  the 
Fathers  abstain  from  fleshmeat  during  the  whole  of  Lent 
and  Advent,  from  the  feast  of  St.  Luke  to  the  feast  of 
All  Saints,  on  the  vigils  of  certain  feasts,  and  on  all 
Wednesdays  and  Saturdays  of  the  year.  Fasting  is  still 
observed  during  Lent  and  Advent,  on  all  Fridays  and 
the  Vigils  of  the  feasts  of  Our  Lord  and  Our  Lady.7 

The  rule  of  silence  was  rigorously  observed  almost  con- 
tinually, not  only  in  the  monastery  but  even  on 
journeys.  These  the  religious  were  obliged  to  make  on 
foot,  except  when  the  distance  was  more  than  four  miles. 
However,  we  must  not  forget  that  Norbert  himself  was 
their  constant  exemplar,  for  while  trying  to  make  his 
disciples  true  religious,  he  was  always  the  first  to  lead 
the  way  in  everything.  We  read  that  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  choosing  for  himself  the  poorest  clothing  in  the 
house,  and  when  away  from  the  monastery  never  looked 
after  his  own  welfare,  but  was  very  solicitous  for  others. 

Thus  the  first  Norbertines  learned  to  observe  the 
Evangelical  Counsels  and  to  follow  Christ,  and  to  them 
Premontre  was  a  Paradise  on  earth.  Well  may  we  apply 

7  The  above  description  about  fasting,  abstinence,  silence, 
etc.,  is  based  on  Chapter  XXX  of  the  Vita  B. 


The  Beauty  of  the  Monastic  Life  121 

to  them  the  beautiful  description  of  monastic  life  in  those 
days,  written  by  Guibert  of  Gemblours.  After  spend- 
ing eight  months  at  Marmoutiers,  he  writes :  ' '  Hatred, 
jealousy  and  ill-feeling  are  unknown  in  these  peaceful 
dwellings;  they  are  forever  banished  by  the  law  of 
silence,  observed  with  exactness  and  guarded  with  a 
fatherly  prudence.  A  glance  from  the  Abbot  suffices  to 
recall  the  rule  and  insure  its  observance.  .  .  .  Where 
shall  we  find  deeper  recollection  at  the  Divine  Office, 
greater  piety  in  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Mysteries? 
.  .  .  Every  countenance  beams  with  modesty,  mild- 
ness, and  the  inward  peace  of  a  good  conscience ;  all 
breathes  the  true  peace  of  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  .  Every 
thought  of  the  world  has  been  left  at  the  gate  of  the 
monastery ;  no  one  boasts  of  his  lineage  .  .  .  the  only 
soldiery  acknowledged  here,  is  that  devoted  to  the  serv- 
ice of  Jesus  Christ.  Labor,  fast,  and  watching,  tame  the 
passions  and  bring  the  body  into  subjection.  .  .  .  The 
Divine  Presence  controls  the  whole  course  of  their  life 
and  animates  their  every  action.  Strict  necessity  alone 
measures  the  rest  granted  to  nature;  all  the  remaining 
hours  are  given  to  God.  During  meals  the  religious  re- 
ceive also  spiritual  food  from  pious  reading,  and  they 
are  more  desirous  of  this  heavenly  nourishment  than  of 
that  of  the  body.  A  great  number  of  them  are  daily 
occupied  in  transcribing  manuscripts.8  These  are  the 
treasures  from  which  they  draw  stores  of  learning  and 
virtue.  I  have  heard  those  pious  solitaries  mutually  urge 
one  another  on  in  the  path  of  virtue,  consoling  one  an- 
other by  thoughts  of  their  journey  heavenward.  Holy 


s  Madelaine   (193)   speaks  of  the  scriptorium  of  Pre"montre, 
room  reserved  for  copyists. 


122  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

walls!  Saintly  citizens!  "With  what  grief  shall  I  quit 
you!  .  .  ."9 

As  we  noticed  above,  Norbert 's  foundation  was  not  for 
clerics  only,  but  in  imitation  of  monastic  establishments, 
it  had  also  a  large  number  of  lay-brothers.  These  occupied 
special  quarters  in  the  monastery,  and  their  habit  dif- 
fered slightly  from  that  of  the  clerics.  They  rose  at  the 
same  hour  as  did  the  clerics,  and  during  the  singing  of 
the  Divine  Office,  they  recited  a  prescribed  number  of 
" Paters"  and  "Aves."  They  were  also  required  to 
assist  at  the  Conventual  Mass.  The  daily  work  of  some 
was  the  work  of  servants  in  the  house,  others  labored  in 
the  field  or  exercised  their  trade.  Thus  there  were 
tailors,  bakers,  etc.,  among  them.  Their  penitential  exer- 
cises were  the  same  as  those  of  the  other  religious,  and 
mjany  prominent  men  were  found  among  them.10 

In  order  to  have  a  complete  idea  of  this  first  founda- 
tion of  St.  Norbert  at  Premontre,  we  now  leave  the  mon- 
astery of  the  Fathers  to  see  the  convent  of  the  first  Nor- 
bertine  Sisters.  Norbert,  mindful  of  the  poor  of  Christ, 
had,  from  his  arrival  at  Premontre,  thought  of  a  means 
to  provide  for  sick  and  poor  people.  When  the  religious 
were  building  their  huts  around  the  chapel,  he  made 
them  erect  also  a  structure  called  a  "Xenodochium," 
which  served  both  as  an  infirmary  and  an  almonry.  In 
those  days  no  religious  house  was  complete  without  a 
place  where  the  poor  could  come  every  day  and  receive 
alms  in  the  name  of  Christ.  The  charge  of  this  place  Nor- 
bert entrusted  to  Blessed  Rievere,  widow  of  Raymond  de 


9  This  description  is  taken  from  Darras  "General  History," 
III,  433. 

10  These  lay-brothers  are  called  "Conversi" — the  fratres  "Do- 
nati"  take  only  temporary^  vows. 


The  Early  Norbertine  Sisters  123 

Clastres.  She  had  given  her  possessions  to  Norbert,  and 
now  lived  in  a  lititle  hut  near  by.  Following  the  example 
of  both  Martha  and  Mary,  this  valiant  woman  was  con- 
stantly occupied  with  the  sick  and  the  poor;  neverthe- 
less she  always  found  time  for  prayer  and  meditation.11 
Performing  her  daily  duties  in  the  spirit  of  recollection 
and  prayer,  according  to  the  instructions  she  received 
from  the  Saint,  she  was  constantly  united  with  God,  and 
advanced  rapidly  on  the  road  to  perfection.  A  legend 
informs  us,  that  when  one  day  her  poorhouse  had  taken 
fire,  she  extinguished  the  flames  by  a  single  sign  of  the 
cross.  Being  of  noble  birth,  her  humble  occupation  and 
saintly  life  were  the  more  edifying,  and  before  long 
other  noble  ladies  followed  her ;  thus  originated  the  Sec- 
ond Order  of  St.  Norbert. 

Among  those  that  joined  the  Order  at  this  time  we 
find:  Ermengardis,  Countess  of  Roussi;  Agnes,  Count- 
ess of  Braine ;  Fredisindis,  Foundress  of  Mount  St.  Mar- 
tin ;  Gude,  Countess  of  Bonneburg ;  Beatrix,  Viscountess 
of  Amiens ;  Anastasia,  Duchess  of  Pomerania ;  Hadwigis, 
Countess  of  Cleves,  and  Gertrude,  her  daughter;  Adele, 
of  Montmorency,  daughter  of  Bouchard,  High  Constable 
of  France,  and  a  number  of  others  of  equal  nobility  and 
virtue.12  Many  daughters  of  the  best  families  of  France 
and  Germany  seemed  anxious  to  leave  the  luxuries  of 
their  own  palaces  to  join  the  new  Order.  The  first  abbey 
thus  became  a  double  monastery. 

The  rules  which  Norbert  prescribed  for  these  Sisters 
seemed  beyond  the  strength  of  their  sex;  however,  they 


11  Acta  SS.  T.  CXI.  13  Oct.  De  B.  Rycwera,  moniali  Praemon- 
stratensi.    Also  die  29  Oct. 

12  Hugo.    La  Vie  de  Saint  Norbert.    Liv.  II,  p.  112. 


124  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

were  far  below  the  height  of  their  courage.  It  must  be 
observed  that  this  Second  Order  developed  in  its  in- 
fancy into  a  strictly  Contemplative  Order.  The  Nuns 
might  never  leave  the  cloister,  and  they  cut  themselves 
off  entirely  from  all  'commerce  with  the  world.  They 
were  not  permitted  to  speak,  even  to  their  nearest  rela- 
tives, except  through  a  grating,  and  then  always  in  the 
presence  of  two  other  religious.  They  never  ate  meat  and 
kept  an  almost  unbroken  Lenten  fast  the  whole  year 
round.  At  midnight  they  rose  to  sing  the  Divine  Office, 
which  practice  is  kept  up  by  them  to  this  day.  In  their 
early  foundation  they  were  required  by  Norbert  to  sew 
and  spin  when  they  were  not  occupied  in  the  recitation 
of  the  Office.  They  were  called  Canonesses,  and  their 
habit  is  still  like  that  of  the  Canons,  except  for  the  black 
veil.  Though  their  rule  of  life  was  most  severe,  it  seems 
to  have  been  very  attractive  in  those  days,  for  such  was 
their  numerical  growth,  that  in  less  than  fifteen  years 
there  were  over  ten  thousand  Norbertine  Nuns  in  the 
various  countries  of  Europe.13 

Besides  the  Choir-sisters,  as  the  Canonesses  were  also 
called,  there  were  lay-sisters,  whose  duties  and  position 
in  the  convent  corresponded  with  those  of  the  lay- 
brothers  in  the  monastery.  Further  there  were  the  Ob- 
lates,  Sorores  Donatae,  as  they  are  still  called.  These 
were  free  to  communicate  with  the  outside  world,  and 
their  vows  were  only  temporary.  As  to  their  govern- 
ment, from  the  beginning  the  Sisters  have  had  practically 
the  same  as  the  Canons.  The  Superior  is  called  "Ab- 
bess;" she  has  absolute  authority  in  the  community. 

isActa  SS.  T.  XX.  p.  853  ...  plus  quam  decem  milia 
feminarum.  .  .  . 


The  Death  of  Blessed  Ricvere  125 

Like  the  abbot,  she  also  bears  the  Crozier  as  the  symbol 
of  her  office  and  rank.  She  is  assisted  by  a  Prioress,  a 
Subprioress  and  other  officers. 

Bl.  Ricvere,  the  eldest  spiritual  daughter  of  the  Saint, 
who  next  to  him  might  be  considered  the  Foundress  of 
the  Norbertine  Canonesses,  died  in  the  odor  of  sanctity 
in  the  year  1136.  Although  a  Countess,  she  was  buried 
according  to  her  own  wish  in  the  cemetery  of  the  poor, 
in  order  to  proclaim  to  the  world,  even  after  her  death, 
her  great  love  for  poverty.  There  is  a  pious  tradition 
that  wonderful  occurrences  have  taken  place  on  her 
grave,  and  that  for  years  beautiful  roses  bloomed  mir- 
aculously over  her  tomb  at  Premontre.14 


14  Acta  SS.  T.  XIII,  Oct.,  p.  53. 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE    CHURCH    AT 


Quum  Nivigellae  Satanam  de  corde  puellae 
Propulsas,  album  te  vocat  canem. 
Tartareum  dum  nempe  lupum  mordesque  fugasque 
Ipse  fuga  Domini  Te  probat  esse  canem. 

When  at  Nivelles  St.  Norbert  drove  out  the  evil  spirit  from 
a  young  girl,  Satan  called  him  a  white  dog.  His  continued 
chasing  of  Satan  proves  Norbert  in  reality  the  dog  of  the  Lord. 

With,  the  marvelous  growth  and  development  of  the 
spiritual  edifice  at  Premontre,  the  necessity  of  material 
expansion  had  become  more  and  more  urgent.  There 
were  still  the  poor  little  huts,  made  of  wood  and  clay, 
and  arranged  camp-like  around  the  chapel.  These  thus 
far  had  served  as  temporary  quarters,  and  had  given  to 
the  brethren  shelter  and  protection  against  the  chilly 
fall  weather.  However,  as  is  evident,  this  could  be  only 
a  provisionary  arrangement,  and  the  building  of  a  spa- 
cious house  had  now  become  imperative.  Further,  there 
was  the  small  chapel  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  where  we 
found  our  Saint  in  ecstasy  on  his  first  visit  to  Premontre, 
and  which  at  this  time  proved  entirely  inadequate  for 
the  community.  For  lack  of  space  the  canons  were 
even  unable  to  observe  the  proper  ceremonial  of  the 
Church  in  the  chanting  of  the  Office.  In  a  word,  the 
young  community  had  entirely  outgrown  its  primitive 
monastery,  and  lack  of  accommodation  must  inter- 
fere with  the  regularity  of  religious  life.  Now  it  was  with 

126 


Soil  Unsuitable  for  Building  127 

the  intention  of  soon  building  a  church,  that  Norbert  had 
undertaken  a  journey  to  Cologne  the  year  before,  to 
procure  the  relics  of  saints,  in  order  that  by  their  inter- 
cession the  brethren  might  be  enabled  to  erect  a  church 
worthy  of  the  name.  It  is  not  recorded  in  what  manner 
these  saints  came  to  Norbert 's  assistance;  however,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1122  the  brethren  decided  to 
erect  both  a  church  and  a  monastery. 

Humanly  speaking,  every  one  will  admit  that  the 
marshy  valley  of  Premontre  was  by  no  means  a  favor- 
able location  for  the  establishment  of  the  center  of  an 
institution  such  as  Norbert  had  planned.  Neither  can 
we  be  surprised  that  some  of  the  brethren,  reasoning 
from  a  natural  standpoint,  expressed  their  disapproba- 
tion of  the  plan,  saying  that  the  valley  was  neither  a 
place  for  a  church  nor  a  monastery.  The  Saint,  how- 
ever, rebuked  them,  and  told  them  of  his  determination 
to  build  both  a  church  and  a  monastery  on  the  place 
pointed  out  to  him  in  his  vision.1  Why  should  they  rely 
on  human  wisdom  when  God  Himself  had  pointed  out  the 
place  ? 

As  was  his  wont,  Norbert  took  refuge  in  prayer, 
and  was  soon  more  than  ever  convinced  of  help  from  on 
high.  He  asked  the  brethren  likewise  to  pray,  urging 
that  faith  and  confidence  in  God  know  of  no  obstacles, 
but  often  accomplish  things  which,  humanly  speaking, 
seem  utterly  impossible.  "It  is  an  incontestable  fact, 
"dearest  brethren,"  he  said,  "that  Jesus  our  Master  did 
"not  come  into  this  world  to  lead  a  life  of  ease,  but  to 
"suffer  and  die  on  the  wood  of  the  Cross.  He  knew 


Vita  B,  Ch.  XXVII. 


128  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

11  full  well  that  Jerusalem  was  preparing  for  Him  a  gib- 
"bet;  nevertheless,  He  looked  upon  the  city  with  com- 
"  passion,  and  when  His  hour  had  come,  He  did  not  take 
"one  step  to  avoid  the  place.  Thus,  brethren,  must. one 
"live  in  religion;  the  true  religious  lives  only  for  Christ. 
"He  who  would  attain  this  sublime  ideal,  must  first  of 
' '  all  put  aside  all  worldly  conveniences ;  the  world  must 
"be  dead  for  him.  Has  not  St.  Paul,  our  model,  said: 
"  'I  live,  now  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me?'  If  we 
1 1  pretend  to  be  truly  poor,  we  should  not  preoccupy  our- 
1 '  selves  with  our  way  of  living ;  to  desire  presents  and  to 
"look  for  the  comforts  of  life,  is  degenerating  for  true 
"disciples  of  Jesus  Christ.  Assuredly  anxiety  for  this 
"earthly  home  should  not  disturb  the  life  of  those  who 
"have  come  to  the  monastery  to  die  to  the  world.  Only 
"those  are  truly  living  who  live,  not  for  themselves,  but 
"in  whom  lives  the  poor  Christ. "  (Vita  B,  1.  c.) 

Thus  far  two  revelations  had  indicated  the  place  where 
the  new  church  was  to  be  erected.  Now  whilst  Norbert 
and  the  brethren  were  earnestly  engaged  in  prayer, 
God's  will  was  made  manifest  to  them  a  third  time,  and 
the  exact  location  pointed  out.  This  happened  in  the 
following  manner:  in  the  center  of  the  valley,  the  very 
spot  where  the  church  was  eventually  built,  there  ap- 
peared to  Bl.  Hugh,  Our  Lord  full  of  glory,  hanging  upon 
the  Cross.  ' '  Thabor  and  Golgotha  at  the  same  time ! ' ' 
as  one  of  the  biographers  remarks.  Seven  sunbeams  of 
marvelous  brightness  shone  upon  our  Crucified  Re- 
deemer. There  was  a  multitude  of  white-robed  pilgrims, 
holding  staffs  in  their  hands,  and  wallets  strung  across 
their  shoulders,  coming  from  the  four  quarters  of  the 
earth,  and  they  paid  homage  to  the  Cross  on  their  knees, 
kissed  the  feet  of  their  Savior,  and  then  went  back  to 


The  Meaning  of  the  Miraculous  Cross  129 

spread  the  glory  of  His  Holy  Name  over  the  whole 
world.  (Vita  B,  I.e.) 

Norbert,  to  whom.  Hugh  had  related  this  vision,  under- 
stood at  once  that  the  church  had  to  be  built  on  the 
exact  spot  where  the  Cross  had  appeared.  Though  the 
Saint  himself  had  not  the  honor  of  the  vision,  heaven 
revealed  to  him  its  import.  Full  of  gratitude,  he  first 
humbly  knelt  before  God's  altar,  and  poured  forth 
his  heart  in  an  ecstasy  of  joy.  He  then  went  to  the 
brethren  and,  in  the  fullness  of  his  prophetic  spirit,  ex- 
plained to  them  the  future  events  foreshadowed  by  this 
miraculous  Cross.  "Courage,  brethren,"  he  said  "pre- 
"pare  yourself  for  battle  and  have  courage !  Visible  and 
"invisible  enemies  will  try  your  virtue,  and  seek  to  dis- 
turb the  calm  of  our  dear  solitude.  The  Cross  is  the 
' '  symbol  which  at  once  announces  war  and  foretells  vic- 
"tory.  New  soldiers  will  join,  and  persevere  unto  the 
' '  end  in  the  warfare  which  you  have  undertaken. ' '  ( Vita 
B,  Ch.  XXVII.) 

The  brethren  were  deeply  moved  by  this  visible  inter- 
vention from,  on  high,  and  at  once  work  on  the  new 
church  was  begun.  The  shadow  of  the  Cross  seen  by 
Hugh  in  the  vision,  formed  the  outline  of  the  walls.  A 
capable  builder  from  France  was  put  at  the  head  of 
Norbert 's  little  army  of  volunteers,  and  when  these  were 
joined  by  a  number  of  workmen  from  Cologne,  the  ex- 
cavations were  soon  well  under  way.  But  alas !  the  soil 
was  so  wet  and  marshy  that  soon  even  the  most  experi- 
enced workmen  despaired  of  ever  being  able  to  build  a 
solid  foundation.  But  Norbert 's  faith  and  confidence  in 
God  could  not  be  shaken.  Prospects  looked  very  dis- 
couraging to  every  one  except  Norbert.  He  told  the 
brethren  to  go  out  and  gather  all  the  stones  they  could 


130  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

find  in  the  neighboring  country,  and  cast  them  into  the 
ditches  as  the  men  were  making  them.2  Meanwhile,  he 
was  so  convinced  of  his  ultimate  success,  that  he  even 
went  ahead  and  fixed  the  day  for  the  solemn  blessing 
and  laying  of  the  cornerstone,  and  invited  for  this  occa- 
sion Bartholomew,  Bishop  of  Laon.  The  day  soon  ar- 
rived, and  what  at  first  seemed  to  all  impossible,  had 
now  been  accomplished,  and  everything  was  in  readiness 
for  the  ceremony. 

How  great  a  day  this  must  have  been  for  Norbert! 
When  the  good  bishop  arrived,  thus  we  read  in  the  Acta 
Sanctorum,3  a  whole  army  of  religious  went  out  to  meet 
His  Lordship.  Clothed  as  they  all  were  in  the  white 
habit,  and  chanting  joyful  hymns,  the  Prelate  was  viv- 
idly reminded  of  Norbert 's  first  vision  in  this  same  place 
two  years  before,  and  appeared  very  much  affected.  His 
Lordship  was  accompanied  by  Lisiard,  Bishop  of  Sois- 
sons  and  by  several  very  prominent  persons.  There  was 
also  present  on  this  occasion  Thomas  de  Marie,  Lord  of 
Coucy,  very  unfavorably  known  for  his  wild  life.  A 
man,  says  Guibert  of  Nogent,  who  had  absolutely  no 
regard  for  human  life,  but  treated  his  men  like  cattle, 
and  killed  them  like  wild  animals.  He  was  present  be- 
cause, strange  to  say,  he  stood  in  great  awe  of  Norbert, 
whom  he  feared,  knowing  him  to  be  a  man  of  God.  He 

2  Vita  B,  Ch.  XXVIII.    Pars  coementariorum  Teutonic!  .  .  . 
pars   nostrates,   amici   jam   Praemonstratensium   .    .   .   tanta 
namque  ibi  palus  erat  quod  vix  sorberi  poterat,  cum  etiam 
multa  lapidum  congeries  projiceretur. 

3  Acta  SS.  XX.     "Analecta  Norbertina,"  p.  854.     Venienti 
Episcopo  totus  ille  Dei  exercitus.  .  .  .  Quod  Norbertus  in  visu 
viderat,   hoc   idem   Episcopus   revera   corporaliter   nunc   fieri 
cernebat. 


Norbert  is  Pitied  and  Praised  131 

had  come  with  his  young  son  Enguerrand,  who  is  to  be- 
come one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  of  Premontre,  and 
whose  body  will  one  day  be  buried  in  the  church  of  the 
monastery.4  According  to  some,  St.  Bernard  was  also 
present  on  this  occasion,  but  this  seems  doubtful.  It  is 
certain,  however,  that  there  was  a  great  number  of  people 
and  clergy. 

Many  were  of  the  opinion  that  Norbert  would  never  be 
able  to  carry  out  his  plans  in  the  marshy  valley  at  Pre- 
montre, and  a  certain  feeling  of  compassion  for  Norbert 
had  no  doubt  increased  the  number  of  those  present.  "We 
read  (Vita  B,  Ch.  XXVIII)  that  some  treated  the  whole 
enterprise  as  something  most  unpracticable,  shook  their 
heads  and  tried  to  prevail  on  Norbert  still  to  change  his 
location.  Others,  however,  who  knew  him  to  be  a  Saint 
who  was  doing  this  work  under  divine  inspiration,} 
praised  his  work  highly.  It  is  even  related  that  after  the 
ceremony  of  the  blessing  was  finished,  a  woman  present 
became  so  enthusiastic,  that  she  applied  to  Norbert  these 
words  of  the  G-ospel:  "  Blessed  is  the  womb  that  bore 
thee."  On  hearing  it,  the  Saint  became  really  indignant 
and  exclaimed:  "Cursed  be  the  evil  one  who  inspired 
thee  with  this  thought,  to  give  me  the  honor  which  is 
due  to  God." 

As  soon  as  the  solemnities  were  over,  the  workmen  re- 
sumed their  task  with  renewed  ardor.  Norbert  was  more 
than  ever  strengthened  in  his  confidence  in  God;  and, 
leaving  the  supervision  of  the  work  to  his  disciple,  Hugh, 
without  the  least  anxiety  as  to  the  future,  he  resumed 
again  his  missionary  labor.  He  first  went  to  Floreffe 
where,  as  we  have  observed,  a  new  foundation  had  been 


*De  Plorival.     Barthelemy  de  Vir.     Ch.  IV,  p.  65,  et  seq. 


132  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

made  on  his  return  journey  from  Cologne.  "We  can 
imagine  how  great  his  solicitude  must  have  been  for  this 
second  foundation  under  the  direction  of  Richard,  since 
he  felt  that  his  presence  was  necessary  at  least  .for 
some  time,  in  order  to  perfect  the  work  he  had  begun. 
No  mention  is  made  as  to  whether  or  not  Norbert  as- 
sisted at  the  solemn  inauguration  of  the  new  monastery, 
which,  according  to  the  Annals  of  Floreffe,  took  place 
on  the  25th  of  January,  1122.  There  certainly  is  every 
reason  to  suppose  that  he  did.  But  of  this  we  are  as- 
sured, that  Norbert  by  his  example  at  Floreffe  grafted 
the  true  spirit  upon  this  new  foundation,  and  that  this 
abbey  was  as  dear  to  him  as  Premontre. 

During  his  stay  at  the  abbey,  a  singular  event 
occurred  which  is  chronicled  by  different  biogra- 
phers. While  offering  up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  with  his  usual 
piety  and  deep  faith,  Norbert  remarked  upon  his  paten, 
just  before  the  Communion  of  the  Mass,  a  large  drop  of 
the  Precious  Blood,  all  red  and  surrounded  by  rays  of 
light  which  came  from  the  Sacred  Host.  Turning  towards 
Ludolph,  his  deacon,  he  said:  "Brother,  do  you  see 
what  I  see?"  The  deacon  replied:  "I  do,  Father!" 
whereupon  Norbert,  shedding  abundant  tears,  continued 
his  Mass.5  The  altarstone  on  which  the  Saint  celebrated 
this  Holy  Sacrifice  has  been  kept  ever  since  in  the  main- 
altar  of  the  abbey  church  at  Floreffe. 

A  brilliant  and  great  future  awaited  the  monastery 
of  Floreffe,  so  happily  inaugurated.  The  Bishop  of 
Liege,  Alberon,  favored  it  in  every  way,  and  approved 

s  Acta  SS.  XX,  p.  846.  "Videsne,"  inquit,  "Frater,  quod  ego 
video?"  "Video,"  ait,  "Domine."  Coepitque  pro  tantae  rei 
magnitudine  uberius  flere.  .  . 


Norbert  Resumes  His  Missionary  Journey       133 

and  confirmed  the  foundation  by  a  solemn  charter,  dated 
May  20th,  1124.  He  exempted  the  abbey  from  all 
diocesan  rights,  asked  from  the  brethren  a  filial  submis- 
sion, and  gave  to  the  abbot  the  right  to  appoint  the  pas- 
tor for  Floreffe.6  When  the  saintly  Abbot  Richard 
died  in  the  year  1131  (Dec.  30th),  the  abbey  was  firmly 
established,  and  continued  its  good  work  until  the  days 
of  the  French  Revolution. 

Having  seen  the  monastery  placed  on  a  solid  founda- 
tion, Norbert  resumed  his  preaching,  going  to  Namur, 
Huy,  Liege,  Tongres,  and  probably  as  far  as  Louvain, 
for  thus  we  read  in  the  Annals  of  the  Abbey  of  Pare, 
near  Louvain:  "In  1122  Norbert  began  to  preach  in 
Brabant"  (p.  598).  Although  no  details  have  come  down 
to  us  describing  this  missionary  tour  in  particular,  we 
have  reason  to  believe  that  his  journey  was  one  series  of 
triumphs  over  sin  and  Satan. 

In  the  beginning  of  May  the  Saint  arrived  at  Maes- 
tricht,  in  the  South  of  Holland.  The  people  were  just 
celebrating  the  patronal  feast  of  their  city,  the  feast  of 
St.  Servace.  This  Saint  had  been  a  bishop  of  Tongres 
in  the  fourth  century.  Acting  upon  a  warning  from 
heaven,  he  had  moved  his  episcopal  throne  to  Maes- 
tricht,  where  ever  since  his  death,  the  people  honored 
his  memory  every  year  with  great  solemnity,  and  in- 
voked him  as  their  special  protector.  Here  also  his 
sacred  remains  rested  in  the  cathedral  church. 

Norbert  at  once  expressed  his  great  desire  to  venerate 
the  relics  of  St.  Servace,  which  were  kept  in  a  silk  veil. 
According  to  popular  tradition  this  veil  had  been  brought 


6  Cfr.  Hugo.     "La  Vie  de  saint  Norbert,"  p.  149.     Also  Bar- 
bier  "Histoire  de  1'Abbaye  de  Floreffe,"  p.  39. 


134  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

down  from  heaven  by  angels  at  the  time  of  the  holy 
bishop's  death,  to  envelop  his  sacred  remains.  In  the 
presence  of  Norbert  and  at  his  urgent  request,  the 
reliquary  was  opened  with  the  greatest  respect.  No  sooner 
had  this  been  done  than  the  veil  was  by  some  invisible 
power  lifted  up  in  the  air,  and  after  moving  about  in  the 
basilica  remained  suspended  from  the  ceiling.  The  people 
were  struck  with  awe  and  admiration,  but  some  began 
lamenting  the  loss  of  the  veil,  and  a  general  commotion 
ensued.  Meanwhile  Norbert,  who  in  silence  had  been 
admiring  the  prodigy,  now  inspired  from  above,  pre- 
pared himself  for  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice. 
And  behold!  when  at  the  beginning  of  the  Canon  he 
stretched  out  his  arms  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  as  is  pre- 
scribed by  the  rubrics,  the  veil  miraculously  returned, 
resting  on  the  arms  of  Norbert,  who  then  replaced  it 
with  great  reverence  in  the  reliquary.7 

"Whatever  heaven's  design  was  in  this  most  wonderful 
event,  it  is  certain  that  all  the  people  were  filled  with 
the  greatest  admiration  and  reverence  for  Norbert,  and 
that  his  missionary  labors  became  thereby  all  the  more 
effective.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  all  the  good  he 
accomplished  at  this  time  at  Maestricht.  A  great  num- 
ber of  sinners  were  brought  to  repentance,  peace  was  re- 
stored between  enemies,  and  the  more  virtuous  were  re- 
animated in  the  practice  of  their  religion.  Leaving 
Maestricht  the  Saint  crossed  the  Rhine  and,  going  into 
Westphalia,  went  from  town  to  town  preaching  the  gos- 
pel of  penance.  At  his  prayer  the  sick  were  healed,  and 

7  Vita  B.  Appendix  Can.  Cappenb.,  Ch.  VIII,  where  a  de- 
tailed description  is  given  of  this  occurrence.  Cfr.  also  Acta 
SS.  T.  XV,  pp.  208-230. 


Various  Attacks  of  Satan  135 

they  who  were  possessed  were  delivered  from  the  evil 
one.  Many  of  these  events  were  recorded,  but  the  rec- 
ords were  mostly  destroyed  in  the  fire  of  Magdeburg, 
of  which  we  shall  speak  in  a  later  chapter.  That  Nor- 
bert  did  perform  a  great  many  miracles  we  know  posi- 
tively, both  from  contemporary  writers  who  befriended 
the  Saint,  and  also  from  his  enemies  who  made  them  a 
subject  of  reproach  to  him,  as  for  instance,  Abelard. 

"As  all  great  and  saintly  enterprises  are  exposed  to 
the  most  violent  attacks,  it  ought  not  to  surprise  us  that 
religious  Orders,  especially  in  their  infancy,  are  a  con- 
stant target  for  the  fury  of  Satan,  for  he  naturally  does 
all  in  his  power  to  prevent  the  raising  of  establishments 
which  he  knows  to  be  fatal  to  his  empire.  Thus  the 
Patriarch  of  the  Monks  of  the  West  had  no  sooner 
formed  his  great  project  of  founding  that  grand  Order, 
which  throughout  the  course  of  its  history  has  done  so 
much  for  the  good  of  religion,  than  Satan  came  to  de- 
clare war  and  to  frustrate  his  plans.  Many  times  did 
he  frighten  the  masons  and  even  break  down  the  walls 
they  had  built.  .  .  ."8  Thus  also  at  Premontre,  es- 
pecially during  the  absence  of  Norbert,  Satan  never 
ceased  in  his  endeavors  to  disturb  the  young  community. 
Their  holy  lives  aroused  his  anger,  and  the  progress  of 
their  new  building  seemed  to  make  him  desperate.  Some- 
times he  appeared  with  a  number  of  his  satellites  to  at- 
tack Premontre  as  a  band  of  armed  soldiers  attacks  a 
stronghold.  The  religious  as  well  as  the  other  workmen 
felt  plainly  on  these  occasions  the  presence  of  some  in- 
visible enemy  preventing  them  from  working  until  they 
sprinkled  holy  water  all  over  the  place.  On  one  oc- 

Hugo  "La  Vie  de  saint  Norbert"  preface. 


136  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

casion  especially,  all  were  greatly  disturbed  and  felt 
obliged  to  call  the  Prior.  Blessed  Hugh  came  and  ban- 
ished the  evil  one  by  the  sign  of  the  Cross.  At  other 
times  Hugh  commanded  Satan  in  the  name  of  Norbert 
to  depart,  and  the  evil 'one  obeyed.  It  happened  on  one 
occasion  when  Bl.  Hugh  was  exorcising  one  of  the  lay- 
brothers,  that  the  devil  confessed  openly  that  he  was 
that  same  spirit  whom  Norbert — "that  white  dog  whose 
birth  should  be  cursed  forever" — had  expelled  from  the 
girl  at  Nivelles.  He  left  his  present  victim  under  loud 
protestations,  showing  incidentally  Norbert 's  great 
power  over  evil  spirits.  (Vita  B,  Ch.  XXIX-XXX.) 

However,  in  spite  of  all  the  annoyances  of  Satan  the 
building  at  Premontre  progressed  marvelously,  and  in 
less  than  nine  months  a  truly  magnificent  church  had 
been  erected.  Even  before  it  was  entirely  completed, 
the  foundations  had  also  been  laid  for  a  spacious  house, 
as  the  early  historian  says,  "large  enough  to  accommo- 
date two  hundred  brethren. ' '  When  both  were  finished, 
there  were  assembled  once  more  clergy  and  laity  for  the 
solemn  dedication. 

In  November  of  the  same  year  we  again  see  the  good 
Bishop  of  Laon,  Bartholomew,  Bishop  Lisiard  of  Sois- 
sons,  and  a  large  number  of  clergy  and  laity,  preceded 
by  white-robed  canons,  move  in  stately  procession 
through  the  marshy  valley  of  Premontre  towards  the  new 
church.  The  precious  relics  which  Norbert  had  brought 
over  from  Cologne  the  year  before,  were  placed  in  costly 
reliquaries  and  exposed  for  veneration ;  the  church,  beau- 
tifully decorated  for  this  impressive  occasion,  could 
hardly  contain  the  great  number,  who  came  for  the  sol- 
emn ceremony.  A  truly  great  day  for  Norbert,  whose 
faith  and  unshaken  confidence  in  God  were  thus  re- 


A  Sad  Accident  137 

warded,  and  a  day  of  triumph  for  the  brethren  who  at 
last  saw  their  holy  desires  realized !  But  alas !  a  singular 
event  changed  their  joy  into  real  sadness.  The  consecra- 
tion of  the  new  altar  had  hardly  taken  place  when  all  of 
a  sudden  the  altar  gave  way,  owing  to  the  great  pressure 
of  the  crowd,  and  leaned  over  to  one  side ;  with  a  crash 
the  newly  consecrated  stone  broke  in  two,  invalidating 
the  consecration.9 

For  a  moment  even  the  Saint  himself  was  greatly  dis- 
turbed, but  at  once  checking  this  impulse  of  nature,  he 
remained  unshaken  in  his  confidence  in  God.  In  his 
prophetic  spirit  he  then  saw  in  this  sad  occurrence  a 
foretoken  of  the  future  history  of  his  Order,  which 
though  once  almost  annihilated,  would  again  rise  to  a 
new  life ;  of  this  he  spoke  to  his  disciples.  We  may  add 
that  later  events  have  proved  the  truth  of  this  pro- 
phecy. At  the  time  of  the  French  Revolution  the  Order 
became  almost  extinct  not  only  in  France  but  also  in 
other  parts  of  Europe,  but  since  that  crisis  it  has  been 
steadily  rising  to  a  new  life.  In  the  year  1805  Pope  Pius 
VII,  while  at  Paris,  said  these  remarkable  words  to  the 
Abbot-General  of  the  Order:  "God  will,  no  doubt, 
bring  back  to  life  an  Order,  which  has  rendered  such 
excellent  services  to  the  Church. '  '10 

At  last  the  church  and  the  monastery  at  Premontre 

9  Vita  B,  Ch.  XXVIII.  Sub  tempore  novem  mensium  .  .  . 
cum  multitude  innumera  .  .  .  currerent,  motum  est  altare 
majus,  et  lapis  dissolutus,  consecratioque  cassata  est.  .  .  .! 
In  the  same  chapter,  however  it  is  also  related,  that  the 
consecration  was  done  over  privately  one  week  later,  on  the 
feast  of  St.  Martin. 

i«Cfr.  G.  VandenElsen  "Het  Leven  van  den  H.  Norbert- 
us,"  p.  94. 


138  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

were  completed ;  and,  when  to-day  we  read  the  historical 
description  of  these  buildings,  we  ask  ourselves  how  was 
it  possible  for  those  men  to  erect  such  beautiful  buildings 
in  the  short  time  of  nine  months,  and  that  under  the 
most  trying  conditions.  The  monk  Hermannus  wrote, 
in  regard  to  the  foundation  of  Premontre:  "All  trav- 
elers come  to  see  the  church  and  the  monastery  at  Pre- 
montre, and  also  the  great  wall  built  around  the  whole 
by  Blessed  Hugh.  I  do  not  believe  that  one  can  find 
anything  similar  even  in  the  wealthiest  and  most  an- 
cient monasteries  of  France.  Every  visitor  is  forced 
to  exclaim  that  this  is  not  the  work  of  man  but  of 
God."11 

After  the  church  and  the  monastery  were  built  at  both 
Premontre  and  Floreffe,  and  the  daily  routine  of  mo- 
nastic life  was  resumed  with  new  vigor,  Norbert  did 
not  rest ;  but,  to  make  new  foundations,  and  thus  work  a 
reform  of  all  canons,  now  became  his  ambition.  The 
marvelous  growth  of  the  new  Order  from  now  until  the 
Saint 's  death  is  nothing  short  of  miraculous.  New  foun- 
dations sprang  up  as  if  from  the  ground,  and  wherever 
Norbert  found  a  lax  community  of  religious,  he  always 
tried  to  induce  them  to  affiliate  with  one  of  his  abbeys. 
This  he  effected  in  the  following  manner :  Two  or  more 
of  these  religious  came  to  a  Premonstratensian  abbey, 
studied  for  a  while  the  customs  and  manner  of  living 
of  the  Fathers,  and  then  were  sent  back  by  Norbert  to 
their  own  house  to  introduce  the  same  discipline.  Thus 
Norbert  was  rapidly  attaining  his  object,  "Reform," 
for  even  at  this  time  his  numerous  disciples  were  bring- 
ing about  a  notable  change  in  existing  conditions.  In 

11  Cfr.  Pertz.  Script.  XII. 


New  Foundations  139 

the  first  five  years  new  foundations  were  made  by  Nor- 
bert  in  Floreffe,  Viviers,  St.  Josse,  Ardenne,  Cuissy, 
Laon,  Liege,  Antwerp,  Varlar,  Cappenberg,  and  thirty 
years  after  the  founding  of  Premontre,  over  one  hun- 
dred abbots  were  present  at  the  General  Chapter  of  the 
Order.  12 

12  Cfr.  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  96. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

GODFREY   OF   CAPPENBERG. 

Godefridus  Comes  hie,  comitis  cum  conjuge,  Prater 
Nomina  Militiae  dant  pretiosa  novae. 

Godfrey,  Count  of  Cappenberg,  with  his  wife  and  brother, 
enter  the  Order  of  St.  Norbert. 

We  here  deviate  from  the  chronological  order  of 
events,  to  devote  some  time  to  the  Counts  of  Cappen- 
berg on  account  of  their  great  liberality  towards  the 
young  Order.  It  might  be  well  to  recall,  that  we  are 
writing  of  the  ages  of  faith,  when  eminent  virtue  was  ad- 
mired and  honored,  even  as  in  our  times,  great  learning 
and  affluence  are.  Norbert 's  austerity,  his  manifest  power 
over  Satan,  his  powerful  preaching — all  these  had 
aroused  the  admiration  of  the  people  and  inflamed  their 
hearts  with  a  holy  enthusiasm.  His  advent  was  hailed 
like  that  of  a  great  conqueror.  Thus  we  read  in  the  life 
of  Bl.  Godfrey,  written  by  a  contemporary:  "In  those 
days  there  appeared  in  Westphalia  that  brilliant  light 
of  the  Church,  Norbert,  the  famous  preacher.  He  was 
a  man  graceful  in  appearance,  eloquent  in  speech.  He 
reformed  the  clergy  and  propagated  the  Order  of  Can- 
ons Eegular  by  founding  numerous  monasteries  .  .  .I"1 

Large  crowds  ever  followed  him  and  the  number 
that  offered  to  become  his  disciples,  sometimes  sur- 


lActa  SS.  T.  II.  Vita  B.  Godefridi,"  Ch.  II,  p.  129:  Appa- 
ruit  .  .  .  exium  quoddam  jubar  ecclesiae,  memorabilis  ille 
Dei  praeco  Norbertus.  .  .  . 

140 


Blessed  Godfrey  of  Capperiberg  141 

passes  the  belief  of  even  the  most  credulous.  Among  the 
many  nobles  who  at  this  time  were  deeply  influenced 
by  the  Saint's  preaching  and  manner  of  living,  was  a 
young  Count,  by  the  name  of  Godfrey.  Although  quite 
young,  (he  was  born  in  the  year  1097,  and  thus  was  only 
in  his  26th  year)  he  was  considered  one  of  the  most  pow- 
erful princes  of  Westphalia,  and  when  in  the  army  of 
Henry  Y,  had  distinguished  himself  on  several  occa- 
sions. He  lived  in  the  splendid  castle  of  Cappenberg,  in 
the  diocese  of  Miinster.  Situated  on  a  high  mountain, 
the  castle  was  famed  for  its  picturesque  surroundings, 
and  was  also  considered  an  impenetrable  stronghold. 

Godfrey  was  a  descendant  of  a  very  illustrious  fam- 
ily. He  had  married  a  daughter  of  the  noble  and 
wealthy  house  of  Arensberg.  Her  name  was  Jutta. 
Since  the  death  of  his  father,  Godfrey  as  eldest  son,  gov- 
erned the  large  estates  of  Cappenberg  and  was  greatly  be- 
loved by  his  subjects.  Different  historians  disagree  as  to 
the  time  and  place  where  Count  Godfrey  first  became  ac- 
quainted with  our  Saint.  Some  say  they  had  first  met 
while  Norbert  was  at  the  Court  of  the  Emperor.  Others 
assign  Xanten  as  their  first  meeting  place,  since  Godfrey 
owned  large  estates  near  the  birthplace  of  our  Saint. 
Tenkoff  observes  that  Godfrey  had  heard  Norbert 's  ser- 
mons while  the  latter  was  at  Cologne  procuring  relics.2 
At  any  rate  it  appears  certain  that  the  Count  knew  Nor- 
bert, for  before  the  Saint  arrived,  Godfrey  had  made 
all  necessary  preparations  to  become  his  disciple. 

Since  their  meeting,  at  whatever  place  it  was,  Godfrey 
had  felt  himself  strongly  drawn  towards  Norbert,  and 
had  even  mentioned  to  others  his  intention  of  dedicating 


2  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  231.    Also  Tenffoff,  p.  7. 


142  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

himself  entirely  to  God.3  Divine  Providence  then  led 
him  to  the  Saint  at  this  time,  and  thus  in  the  same  year 
that  foundations  were  made  in  Floreffe  (Belgium),  and 
the  church  and  the  monastery  built  in  Premontre 
(France),  in  that  very,  same  year  Norbert  was  also  en- 
abled through  the  liberality  of  this  Count  to  make  a  new 
foundation  on  German  soil.  To  do  justice  to  the  noble 
character  of  the  Count,  we  must  not  overlook  the  numer- 
ous obstacles  he  had  to  overcome  before  offering  himself 
and  all  he  had  to  Almighty  God. 

There  was  first  and  foremost  his  young  and  beautiful 
wife,  truly  devoted  to  him,  and  not  at  all  inclined  to  be 
separated  from  a  noble  and  loving  husband.  To  leave 
her  without  her  consent  would  be  to  break  his  solemn 
oath  taken  before  God's  altar — "till  death  doth  us  part." 
With  Ood's  help,  however,  he  succeeded  in  winning  her 
over  to  his  views,  and  she  also  decided  to  leave  the 
world  and  give  herself  to  God.  One  day  she  will  be 
abbess  of  the  convent  of  Herfort,  where  Godfrey's  sis- 
ter Beatrix,  also  is  to  take  the  veil.  Still  greater  diffi- 
culty had  he  in  persuading  his  brother,  Otto,  who  at 
first  refused  outright  to  credit  his  sincerity.  Here 
again,  by  the  grace  of  God,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
consent.  But  we  can  readily  understand  that  the  con- 
sent of  neither  Jutta  nor  Otto  was  obtained  in  a  day,  but 
only  after  a  long  and  painful  struggle,  and  not  without 
help  from  above;  for  we  must  not  forget  that  we  are 
here  dealing  with  great  and  wealthy  nobles.  To  sacrifice 
everything  and  become  beggars  for  the  sake  of  Christ, 
however  great  and  heroic  from  a  supernatural  stand- 


s  Acta  SS.    Vita  B.    Godefridi,  1.  c. 


The  Foundation  of  Cappenberg  143 

point,  is  something  from  which  human  nature  at  all 
times  recoils. 

Meanwhile  Norbert  had  come  into  Westphalia,  where, 
without  his  knowledge,  all  these  preparations  had  been 
made.  This  was  in  the  month  of  May,  1122.  As  soon 
as  Godfrey  heard  of  his  arrival  he  at  once  hastened  to 
him,  and  to  Norbert 's  great  surprise  he  offered  him  the 
castle  of  Cappenberg  with  all  its  dependencies,  its  gar- 
dens and  pastures,  its  woods  and  mills.  The  castle  it- 
self was  to  be  turned  at  once  into  a  monastery  for  the 
Saint's  disciples.  Norbert  accepted  his  generous  offer. 
When,  on  the  31st  of  May,  the  transfer  had  been 
made  with  due  solemnity,  and  Godfrey  had  given  up 
all  he  had,  he  then  offered  himself,  and  begged  of  the 
Saint  to  receive  him  as  one  of  his  disciples.  To  this 
also  Norbert  consented,  but  refused  to  clothe  him  as  yet 
with  the  religious  habit,  for  he  foresaw  the  numerous 
difficulties  which  would  arise  from  the  Count's  gener- 
osity.4 

Meanwhile  the  necessary  alterations  were  being  made 
in  the  castle  to  fit  the  place  for  the  life  of  religious,  and 
on  the  15th  day  of  August  the  Bishop  of  Minister,  Thier- 
ry de  Winzenburch,  came  to  solemnly  dedicate  the  new 
monastery  and  provisionary  chapel.5  Norbert  installed 
some  of  the  brethren  of  Premontre,  and  this  foun- 
dation of  Cappenberg  made  such  rapid  progress,  that 
in  a  few  years  it  became  the  splendor  of  the  Order,  rank- 
ing as  high  as  Premontre  itself.  Norbert  himself,  as 
long  as  he  lived,  bore  the  title  of  Provost  of  the  House 


4  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  233. 

s  Acta  SS.  T.  II,  p.  122-123.  Also  G.  Vanden  Elsen,  o.  e.,  p. 
106,  where  he  observes  that  on  this  same  day  the  cornerstone 
was  laid  for  a  new  church, 


144  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

of  Cappenberg,  although  during  his  lifetime,  first  Cuno, 
and  later  Otto,  were  its  actual  superiors.  But  all  official 
documents  of  that  time  are  addressed  to  Norbert,  Pro- 
vost of  Cappenberg,  and  the  list  of  Provosts  is  headed 
by  the  name  of  Norbert.  His  love  for  this  house  was 
exceedingly  great  and  he  often  spoke  of  Cappenberg 
as  the  "Holy  Mountain." 

"While  a  new  church  was  being  built,  plans  were  made 
by  the  advice  of  Norbert,  for  the  erection  of  a  "Xeno- 
dochium, ' '  i.  e.,  a  great  hospital  for  the  sick  of  the  neigh- 
borhood and  for  travelers,  and  at  the  same  time  an  alms- 
house  where  large  numbers  were  to  be  daily  fed.  "It 
was  Norbert 's  constant  desire, ' '  observes  Madelaine,  l '  to 
have  the  roof  of  charity  in  the  shadow  of  the  house  of 
prayer. ' ' 

As  soon  as  these  ^buildings  were  completed,  Jutta  ex- 
pressed her  desire  of  taking  the  veil  in  religion,  and 
forthwith  a  large  convent  was  built  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  for  Norbertine  Sisters.  It  was  known  by  the 
name  of  "Nieder-Clooster,"  and  was  later  transferred 
to  Wesel.6 

Godfrey's  brother  Otto,  greatly  influenced,  no  doubt, 
by  the  noble  example  of  his  brother  and  sister,  also  de- 
termined to  become  a  religious,  and  in  his  turn  offered 
to  Norbert  his  immense  patrimony,  the  castles  of  Varlar 
and  Ilmstadt.  Varlar  was  also  in  the  diocese  of  Miin- 
ster  near  Coesfeld.  A  colony  of  disciples  camie  from 
Premontre,  and  Varlar  was  soon  transformed  into  an- 
other Premonstratensian  abbey,  dedicated  to  the  Mother 
of  God.  Four  years  later  when  Pope  Honorius  con- 


6Cfr.  Madelaine,  p.  234,  who  quotes  Hugo  Ann.  Praem.,  T. 
II,  col.  1067. 


Tlie  Foundation  of  Ilmstadt  Abbey  145 

firmed  the  Order,  Yarlar  is  spoken  of  as  a  very  flour- 
ishing community.  As  to  Ilmstadt  or  Ilbenstadt,  which 
had  belonged  to  both  Godfrey  and  Otto,  it  was  also  con- 
verted into  an  abbey.  It  was  situated  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Rhine,  about  five  miles  from  Frankfurt,  in  the 
diocese  of  Mainz.  The  Charter  of  Adalbert,  Archbishop 
of  Mainz,  is  of  the  year  1123,  and  gives  the  religious 
"living  under  the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine,  and  the  insti- 
tutions of  our  venerable  brother  Norbert,"  all  powers 
and  faculties  for  the  exercise  of  the  sacred  ministry. 
Some  years  later  Pope  Innocent  II,  upon  the  request  of 
the  Archbishop,  confided  to  the  Premonstratensians  the 
the  care  of  the  souls  of  that  whole  province.7 

While  these  new  foundations  were  being  established, 
God  manifestly  aided  Norbert  in  the  great  work.  Funds 
seem  to  have  been  forthcoming  whenever  needed,  and  the 
number  of  disciples  continued  to  increase  every  day. 
Premontre  had  in  reality  become  a  training  station, 
whither  new  recruits  came  to  be  drilled  in  monastic 
discipline  and  from  which  they  were  sent  out  to  the  new 
foundations  as  soon  as  they  were  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  Norbert.  In  a  word,  things  were  going  entirely  in 
accordance  with  the  fondest  hopes  of  our  Saint.  No 
wonder,  therefore,  that  we  find  Satan  making  violent 
efforts  to  obstruct  the  noble  work.  He  soon  found  a 
powerful  auxiliary  in  the  Count  of  Arensberg,  the  fa- 
ther-in-law of  Godfrey,  who,  when  he  heard  of  what 
he  was  pleased  to  call  "the  most  foolish  act  of  his  son- 
in-law,  ' '  became  furious,  and  accused  Godfrey  of  flagrant 
injustice  to  Jutta;  for,  he  claimed  that  part  of  the 


7  Ibidem,  Hugo  Annales  Ord.  Praem.  Varlaria,  col.  1047-1048 
(T.  II),  and  also  T.  I.    Ilbenstadium  superiis,  p.  866. 


146  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

estate  of  Cappenberg  was  her  dowry  and  that  she  had 
been  misled.  Godfrey  immediately  went  to  him  to  ad- 
just matters  and  explain  everything,  but  the  Count  re- 
fused even  to  listen  to  him  and  decided  to  take  by  force 
what  he  claimed,  though  unjustly,  to  be  his.  In  effect 
he  camje  with  a  number  of  armed  men  to  Cappenberg 
to  frighten  his  son-in-law,  but  Godfrey  faced  him  fear- 
lessly, for  he  was  convinced  that  what  he  had  done,  he 
had  done  solely  for  the  love  of  God  and  the  welfare  of 
his  soul,  without  violating  the  rights  of  anyone.  He  said 
to  one  of  his  former  servants  (thus  we  read  in  the  Acta 
SS.)  :  "Perhaps  his  plan  is  to  imprison  me,  but  you  can 
tell  our  father  Norbert,  that  in  case  I  am  imprisoned,  I 
pray  him  not  to  take  any  steps  to  procure  my  deliver- 
ance. Oh!  if  I  could  only  be  found  worthy  to  die  in 
prison  for  the  love  of  God. ' ' 8 

But  now  many  of  his  former  servants,  those  who  once 
loved  him  were  turned  against  him,  said  openly  that 
the  Count  had  lost  his  head,  and  accused  Norbert  of 
being  an  impostor.  These  men  had  changed  towards  the 
young  Count  because,  although  they  still  had  a  suffi- 
cient income,  they  had  largely  been  replaced  by  lay- 
brothers,  and  from  a  worldly  point  of  view  the  change 
had  not  been  to  the  advantage  of  even  those  that  re- 
mained. Even  the  Bishop  of  Minister  himself,  though 
he  was  a  great  friend  of  the  Count  and  a  warm  admirer 
of  Norbert,  advised  Godfrey  on  the  day  he  dedicated  the 
new  monastery,  to  change  his  plans  for  the  sake  of  pre- 
serving peace.  But  Godfrey  answered  the  Bishop  as 
well  as  his  servants  by  saying:  "What  we  have  done, 
we  have  done  acting  on  the  inspiration  of  God,  and  as 


8  Acta  SS.  Tom  II.  13  Jan.,  p.  130. 


Threats  of  the  Count  of  Arensberg  147 

long  as  I  live,  not  the  world,  but  God  will  be  served  in 
this  place.  If  you  really  loved  mie  you  would  all  be 
happy  to  see  me  following  God's  Holy  Will  and  escaping 
from  the  dangers  of  the  world. ' ' 

The  Count  of  Arensberg  refused  to  be  reconciled,  and 
said  to  all  who  cared  to  listen  to  him,  that  he  was  going 
to  kill  Norbert  and  hang  his  body  from  the  wall  of  the 
castle.  By  the  help  of  a  certain  Franco,  he  next  decided 
to  take  his  daughter,  Jutta,  by  force  from  her  cell ;  this 
he  did,  and  led  her  away  from  Cappenberg.  He  had 
hidden  her,  but  Godfrey  sought  for  her  night  and  day. 
The  rumor  was  then  spread  that  Godfrey  had  changed 
his  mind ;  that  he  had  driven  away  the  canons  and  was 
now  trying  to  find  his  wife  and  resume  his  worldly 
life.  "When,  however,  Godfrey  showed  the  people  how 
false  was  this  rumor,  and  spoke  to  them  of  the  injustice 
of  this  cruel  act  of  the  Count  of  Arensberg,  they  began 
to  hate  and  despise  the  latter,  and  even  dared  speak 
of  his  cruelty  to  his  own  daughter. 

At  this  time  it  happened  that  for  some  unknown  rea- 
son Norbert  was  obliged  to  leave  Cappenberg.9  As  soon 
as  the  Saint  had  left,  Frederick  began  to  change  tactics 
in  regard  to  his  son-in-law,  and  tried  to  gain  in  a  friend- 
ly way  what  he  was  unable  to  procure  by  force.  He  in- 
vited Godfrey  to  visit  him  in  his  castle,  but  notwith- 
standing his  eloquent  plea,  Godfrey  soon  convinced  him 
that  it  was  all  in  vain.10  This  second  failure  infuriated 
him;  he  threatened  Godfrey's  life  and  finally  decided  to 


9  VandenElsen,    p.    108,    says    that    Norbert    probably    had 
gone  to  Premontre"  to  assist  at  the  solemn  dedication. 

10  According  to  Madelaine  this  meeting  took  place  on  the 
feast  of  the  Assumption,   1123,  but  it  must  have  been  the 
year  before. 


148  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

bring  the  whole  matter  before  the  Court  of  the  Em- 
peror. To  this  Godfrey  gladly  consented. 

Be  it  observed  that  the  Emperor  Henry  was  now  just 
at  the  most  critical  period  of  his  life  and  overwhelmed 
with  cares.  Maurice  Bburdin,  the  antipope  and  a  crea- 
ture of  Henry,  had  been  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  the 
monastery  of  Cava.  The  Saxons  were  in  revolt.  The 
nobility  was  weary  of  his  fruitless  struggles  with  Rome, 
which  had  already  lasted  over  fifty  years.  The  absurd- 
ity of  Investiture,  the  impropriety  of  a  prelate  receiv- 
ing the  ring  and  crozier  from  the  hands  of  a  layman 
had  become  apparent  to  everybody,  and  from  all  sides 
came  petitions  for  peace. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  Norbert,  who  had  returned 
to  Westphalia,  in  company  with  Count  Godfrey,  went 
in  person  to  the  Emperor,  who  was  holding  his  Court  at 
Lobwissen.  "We  must  not  forget  that  the  Counts  of 
Cappenberg  had  more  than  once  taken  sides  against 
the  Emperor,  and  were  known  to  oppose  his  claims  as 
to  Investiture.  Through  the  influence  of  Norbert,  Henry, 
as  he  himself  distinctly  stated,11  not  only  favored  God- 
frey against  his  father-in-law,  but  shortly  after  par- 
doned the  recusancy  of  both  Godfrey  and  Otto,  and 
restored  them  to  his  favor.  All  this  is  stated  in  a  pub- 
lic document. 

Now,  this  favorable  decision  of  an  excommunicated 
Emperor,  and  his  subsequent  action  in  regard  to  the 
foundations  of  Godfrey  and  Otto,  which  he  took  under 
his  imperial  protection,  are  most  remarkable  and  show 
unmistakably  Norbert 's  influence  over  Henry  at  this 


11  Hugo  Ann.  Praem.  I.   Prob.  372,  supradicto  sacerdote  pro 
eis  intercedente.  ,    Cfr.  also  Binterim  and  Von  Steinen. 


The  End  of  the  War  of  Investiture  149 

critical  period.  Can  anyone  doubt  that  Henry  and  Nor- 
bert, his  former  chaplain,  held  serious  converse  on  the 
state  of  the  Empire,  and  that  Norbert  induced  him  to 
sign  that  long-looked-for  declaration  made  at  the  Con- 
cordat of  Worms  in  the  month  of  September  of  this 
same  year? 

"For  the  love  of  God,"  thus  reads  the  document, 
"of  the  Holy  Eoman  Church  and  of  Pope  Calixtus,  as 
"well  as  for  the  good  of  my  soul,  I  renounce  all  claims 
' '  to  the  right  of  Investiture  by  ring  and  crozier.  I  grant 
"to  all  the  churches  within  my  Empire  the  freedom  of 
"canonical  elections  and  consecrations.  I  promise  peace 
"with  Pope  Calixtus  and  the  Holy  Koman  Church,  and 
"to  give  him  aid  whenever  he  may  claim  it."  12 

The  end  of  the  war  of  Investiture  was  hailed  with 
great  joy  by  all  Christendom.  True,  history  has  not 
linked  the  name  of  our  humble  Saint  with  that  most  im- 
portant event,  for  no  one  can  know  exactly  what  passed 
between  him  and  the  emperor.  But  when  we  reflect  that 
Norbert 's  whole  life  since  the  day  of  his  conversion  had 
been  devoted  to  peace-making,  that  his  influence  over 
the  hearts  of  the  nobles  and  the  great  of  his  day  was 
truly  miraculous — moreover,  that  circumstances  brought 
him  at  this  time  into  the  very  presence  of  the  Emperor, 
and  that  to  his  influence  Henry  is  known  to  have  yielded 
in  regard  to  Godfrey  and  Otto — who  could  doubt  that 
Norbert  was  a  most  powerful  instrument  in  the  hands  of 
Almighty  God  to  bring  about  this  most  momentous 
event  ? 

Meanwhile,  Frederic,  Count  of  Arensberg,  had  died 
quite  suddenly  while  assisting  at  a  great  banquet,  and 


12  Cfr.  Darras.  Gen.  History  of  the  Church,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  200. 


150  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

his  death  brought  peace  to  the  Abbey  of  Cappenberg. 
Godfrey  soon  received  the  white  habit  from  the  hands  of 
Norbert,  and  became  one  of  his  most  zealous  disciples. 
His  great  humility  especially  was  truly  edifying.  He 
ever  refused  to  be  reminded  of  his  former  greatness,  and 
never  allowed  anyone  to  render  him  particular  honor. 
"You  make  me  feel  sad,"  he  often  said,  when  reminded 
of  what  he  had  done  for  the  Order,  ' '  I  am  the  servant  of 
all."  It  was  his  great  delight  to  perform  the  most  men- 
ial duties  in  the  house.  Many  a  time  he  went  to  the 
'  *  Xenodochium ' '  he  himself  had  built,  and  there  washed 
the  feet  of  the  poor  sick  people.  Further,  in  the  ob- 
servance of  the  prescribed  fast  and  in  other  mortifica- 
tions, he  was  truly  admirable  and  a  continual  source  of 
edification. 

Norbert 's  desire  was  to  have  him  in  the  Abbey  of  Pre- 
montre.  The  Saint's  desire  meant  a  command  for  this 
son  of  obedience,  and  both  he  and  his  brother  went  to 
the  mother  abbey.  Here,  in  the  year  1125,  Godfrey  re- 
ceived minor  orders.  Norbert  entertained  the  highest 
hopes  for  the  future  of  this  saintly  disciple.  Alas !  these 
hopes  were  never  to  be  realized,  for  Divine  Providence 
had  disposed  otherwise.  He  who  seemed  most  worthy  to 
become  a  priest  of  the  Most  High,  would  never  with  his 
pure  hands  touch  the  Divine  Victim.  However,  he  had 
offered  himself  "a  living  host,  holy  and  acceptable  to 
the  Lord." 

He  had  been  but  one  year  in  the  Abbey  of  Premontre, 
when  Norbert,  now  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  called  his 
dear  son  to  him.  Godfrey  hastened  to  obey,  but  felt 
out  of  place  in  the  midst  of  the  world.  He  soon  begged 
Norbert  to  send  him  back  again  to  the  solitude  of  the 
cloister,  "his  paradise  on  earth,"  as  he  called  it.  Hav- 


The  Death  of  Blessed  Godfrey  of  Capperiberg     151 

ing  received  the  Saint's  blessing,  he  retired  to  the  abbey 
of  Ilbenstadt,  and  there  becam'e  the  victim  of  a  mortal 
malady.  His  brother,  Otto,  as  also  the  other  religious, 
were  all  deeply  grieved  when  from  day  to  day  his  con- 
dition grew  worse.  He,  on  the  contrary,  seemed  radiant 
with  joy,  and  often  said  to  the  brethren:  "But  why, 
after  all,  did  we  take  the  habit  of  penance?  Why  did 
we  mortify  ourselves,  if  not  to  be  sooner  with  our  Sav- 
ior?" 

On  the  13th  day  of  January,  1127,  when  all  the  breth- 
ren stood  weeping  at  his  bedside,  he  said  to  his  brother 
Otto:  "I  hear  a  voice  repeating,  'Go  before  him'  .  .  .  " 
A  moment  later  he  exclaimed:  " Welcome,  messen- 
gers of  my  Creator ! ' '  These  were  his  last  words.  An- 
gels came  to  bear  his  soul  to  eternal  bliss.  He  was  then 
only  thirty  years  of  age.13 

His  first  foundation,  Cappenberg,  was  soon  consid- 
ered the  mother  house  of  the  German  province,  and  in 
a  few  years  comprised,  besides  the  houses  at  Ilbenstadt 
and  Varlar,  Herfort,  where  Jutta  became  Abbess,  Clar- 
holz,  Scheida,  Wesel,  Weddinghausen,  Wirburg,  Quellen- 
burg  and  Bonlant.  Otto  became,  in  1155,  Provost  of 
Cappenberg,  and  died  there  in  the  odor  of  sanctity,  on 
the  27th  of  January,  1172. 


is  The  feast  of  Blessed  Godfrey  is  kept  in   the  Order  on 
Jan.  17th. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  THIRD  O'RDER  OF  ST.  NORBERT. 

Certatim  populi  accurrunt  facunda  videre 
Ora  Viri,  cunctosque  eloquio  suo  trahit. 

Forth  thou  went  a  conquering  hero; 
Passions  wild  and  social  bondage 
Bent  their  crippled  forms  and  vanished 
'Neath  thy  rule.    .    .    . 

The  fame  of  the  wonderful  deeds  of  the  Counts  of 
Cappenberg  had  spread  rapidly  throughout  Westphalia, 
and  thence  into  France,  where  at  this  time  Norbert  was 
well  and  favorably  known.  His  Order  was  steadily 
growing  in  importance,  to  the  great  delight  of  all  good 
people,  but  to  the  extreme  annoyance  of  Norbert 's  ene- 
mies. They  began  to  recognize  the  powerful  influence 
of  Norbert 's  Institute,  and  consequently  they  put  forth 
every  endeavor  to  injure  the  reputation  of  Norbert  and 
his  disciples. 

At  Premontre,  Satan  was  continually  trying  to  cause 
disturbances  among  the  brethren,  and  outside  of  the  ab- 
bey Satan's  followers  criticized  their  work  severely.  In 
the  case  of  Cappenberg,  they  found  reason  to  accuse 
the  Saint  of  having  exercised  undue  influence  over  God- 
frey, his  wife  and  his  brother,  with  the  intention  of  en- 
riching his  Institute.  But  Norbert  remained  undis- 
turbed ;  it  was  by  no  means  the  first  time  that  they  had 
condemned  his  actions.  Besides,  his  measures  at  West- 
phalia caused  great  admiration;  the  noble  example  of 
Count  Godfrey  and  his  brother  appealed  to  the  hearts 

*  152 


Count  Theobald  153 

of  many,  and  thus  Norbert 's  reputation,  far  from  being 
lessened,  was  considerably  exalted.  Several  of  the  no- 
bility came  at  this  time  to  Norbert  to  offer  all  they  had, 
and  even  themselves,  with  the  firm  determination  to  fol- 
low Godfrey's  example. 

Among  these  one  especially  must  be  noticed,  since  he 
was  to  be,  in  the  designs  of  Providence  the  cornerstone 
of  a  great  and  new  structure  to  be  raised  by  the  Saint. 
He  was  a  very  illustrious  person,  the  most  powerful 
prince  in  the  kingdom  of  France,  and  even  the  first 
in  rank  after  the  king.  "  Theobald  IV,  surnamed  the 
Great,  was  the  son  of  Stephen,  Count  of  Champagne  and 
Blois,  and  of  Alice,  daughter  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
King  of  England.  In  the  year  1102  he  had  succeeded  to 
his  father's  estates,  and,  observes  Guibert  of  Nogent, 
' '  owned  as  many  castles  as  there  are  days  in  the  year. ' n 
Since  the  year  1120,  when  on  the  25th  of  November  a 
terrible  accident  had  befallen  his  family,  Theobald  had 
been  deeply  religious.  He  was  on  his  way  to  England  to 
visit  the  king,  when  on  that  day  one  of  the  ships  suf- 
fered shipwreck  off  the  English  coast,  and  no  trace  was 
left  of  "La  Blanche  Nef,"  which  had  his  sister  aboard, 
his  brother-in-law  and  four  children  of  the  king.2  Since 
that  terrible  catastrophe  the  abundance  of  his  wealth  and 
the  great  honor  in  which  he  was  held  by  all,  only  contrib- 
uted to  render  him  more  humble  and  charitable.  He  be- 
came the  ideal  Christian  prince,  whose  only  object  in  life 
was  to  secure  the  happiness  of  his  people,  and  to  encour- 
age them  in  the  practice  of  virtue.  St.  Bernard  testifies  to 


1  Hugo  "La  Vie  de  Saint  Norbert,"  p.  124. 

2  G.  VandenElsen,  "Het  leven  van  den  H.  Norbertus,"  p.  117. 


154  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

his  integrity  when  he  says  in  one  of  his  letters:3  "When 
"we  receive,  perhaps,  from  other  princes  words  true  and 
"untrustworthy,  it  is  neither  new  nor  wonderful  to  us. 
"But  in  the  case  of  Count  Theobald,  it  is  a  matter  of 
"great  surprise  that  his  Yes  and  No  should  be  without 
"weight,  since  a  word  from  him  is  for  us  equivalent  to 
"an  oath,  and  a  slight  untruth  is  regarded  by  him  as  a 
"grave  perjury;  since  of  all  the  virtues  which  dignify 
"his  high  rank  and  render  his  name  celebrated  through- 
"out  the  whole  world,  the  chief  and  most  extolled  is  his 
"steadfast  truthfulness. ' ' 

Such  was  the  illustrous  person  who  came  out  to  meet 
Norbert  returning  from  Westphalia;  he  was  fully  de- 
termined to  follow  the  example  of  Count  Godfrey  and 
join  the  Order.  A  most  flattering  proposition,  no  doubt, 
to  the  Founder  of  a  new  institute  greatly  in  need  of 
helpers  and  protectors,  and  we  should  expect  the  Saint 
to  act  with  him  as  he  did  with  Count  Godfrey  and  accept 
his  offer  without  delay !  But  no ;  the  Saint  did  not  pro- 
ceed hastily  in  this  matter ;  and,  without  either  accepting 
or  rejecting  the  offer,  he  asked  the  Count  for  a  few  days' 
time,  in  order  to  consult  our  Lord  in  prayer,  and  confide 
to  Him  this  new  project.  Could  it  really  be  the  will  of 
God,  the  Saint  asked  himself,  that  the  immense  estates 
and  castles  of  Count  Theobald  should  come  to  the  Order  ? 
He  knew  that  in  case  the  numerous  castles  should  really 
be  converted  into  monasteries,  it  would  cause  great  dis- 
turbance in  the  feudal  hierarchy  of  the  Count 's  vassals, 
and  perhaps  prove  even  a  menace  to  the  peace  of  the 
kingdom.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  convinced  of  the 
present  generosity  of  the  Count  in  building  churches 


a  Letter  XXXVIII,  published  by  S.  J.  Bales. 


The  Origin  of  the  Third  Order  155 

and  monasteries,  and  he  knew  him  to  be  a  father  to  the 
orphans,  a  protector  to  widows,  and  a  most  liberal  friend 
of  the  poor  and  the  Church.  "Would  it  not  be  contrary 
to  the  workings  of  Divine  Providence  to  change  the  life 
of  this  noble  prince,  whom  God  seemed  to  have  predes- 
tined to  be  a  great  benefactor  of  whole  provinces?4 

Norbert  therefore  increased  his  prayers  and  mortifica- 
tions to  prepare  his  heart  for  guidance  from  on  high. 
The  more  he  prayed  the  more  he  realized  that  God  did 
not  call  Theobald  to  serve  Him  in  the  monastery.  A 
sublime  thought  now  entered  into  the  mind  of  the  Saint, 
no  doubt,  in  response  to  his  fervent  prayer.  "Was  there 
no  possibility  of  opening  the  doors  of  his  Institute  to 
persons  living  in  the  world?  Was  it  not  possible  to  es- 
tablish some  organization  which  would  be  halfway,  so 
to  say,  between  the  world  and  the  monastery?  An  or- 
ganization, which  though  existing  in  the  very  bosom,  of 
human  society,  would  have  a  truly  religious  soul?  This 
idea  gradually  ripened  in  the  mind  of  Norbert,  and 
eventually  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  Third  Order, 
known  as  such  the  world  over. 

Theobald  was  awaiting  Norbert 's  answer  with  the 
greatest  anxiety.  Heaven  suggested  to  the  Saint  the 
following  reply:  "You  will  not  be  a  religious,  you 
"will  continue  to  bear  the  yoke  of  the  Lord  as  you  have 
1 '  done,  and  you  will  add  to  it  that  of  wedlock.  "5  "  See, ' ' 
exclaims  here  the  oldest  historian  of  the  Saint,  "how 
great  was  his  discernment  of  spirits !  Two  princes,  God- 
frey and  Theobald,  come  to  him;  one  he  makes  give  up 


Vita  B,  Ch.  XXXIII. 
Vita  B,  Ch.  XXXIII. 


156  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

all;  the  other  he  bids  keep  all,  and  possess  all  as  if  he 
possessed  nothing."6 

Theobald,  though  he  seemed  greatly  disappointed,  an- 
swered the  Saint  manfully :  ' '  If  such  is  the  will  of  God, 
"it  is  not  for  me  to  gainsay  it,  but  rest  assured,  vener- 
' '  able  Father,  that  I  will  not  wed  anyone  but  the  woman 
"you  choose  for  me."7  The  Count,  anxious  to  be  in 
some  way  united  with  Norbert  and  his  great  work,  asked 
the  Saint  before  leaving,  for  a  Rule  of  Life.  Nor- 
bert was  happy  to  grant  this  request  and  drew  up  a 
Rule  that  could  without  great  difficulty  be  observed  in 
the  world,  but  at  the  same  time  sufficiently  austere  to 
become  for  souls  of  good  will,  a  safe  road  to  eternity  and 
a  bulwark  against  the  evils  of  the  age.  In  addition  to 
this,  Norbert  gave  the  Count  an  outward  token  or  sign 
of  his  aggregation  to  the  Order,  in  the  form  of  a  white 
woolen  scapular  with  which  he  solemnly  invested  him.8 
Thus  the  generous  offer  of  the  Count  and  Norbert 's  sub- 
sequent rejection  of  it  were  in  the  eternal  decrees,  in- 
strumental in  bringing  about  the  foundation  of  an  en- 
tirely new  institution,  ' '  The  Third  Order. ' '  Henceforth 
in  the  midst  of  his  glittering  court,  Count  Theobald  was 
always  in  simple  and  modest  attire,  and  observed  a  rule 
of  life  far  superior  to  that  of  the  most  pious  layman  of 
the  district. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  before  St.  Norbert 's  time  no 
one  had  ever  succeeded  in  establishing  in  the  Church  a 
state  of  life  midway  between  the  cloister  and  the  world ; 


« Ibidem. 

7  Ibidem. 

sBiblioth.  Praem.  Ord.  Lib.  I,  p.  311  ...  breve  scap- 
ulare  laneum  candidum  sub  laicalibus  vestimentis  praescrip- 
sit. 


Norbert  Points  the  Way  to  Other  Founders       157 

or,  to  put  it  in  different  words,  a  religious  order  which 
should  penetrate  into  Christian  homes  in  the  midst  of  the 
world.  Therefore,  as  Fath.  Duhayon  observes :  '  *  To  St. 
* '  Norbert  is  due  the  honor  of  having  been  chosen  by  God 
"to  become  an  instrument  in  founding  this  salutary  in- 
"stitution."9  Also  Cardinal  Gasquet  says:  "It  is  worth 
"remarking  that  apparently  the  Canons  of  Premontre 
' '  were  the  first  to  conceive  the  idea,  afterwards  so  largely 
"developed  by  the  mendicants  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
"of  uniting  laymen  and  women  to  them  by  a  formal 
"aggregation  in  what  was  known  as  a  ' Third  Order/ 
"with  a  share  in  all  the  prayers  and  privileges  of  the 
"brethren."10 

To  our  Saint  therefore  belongs  the  glory  of  having 
pointed  out  the  way  to  other  Founders — a  glory  and 
honor  which  may  well  be  appreciated  by  the  sons  of  the 
holy  Patriarch  and  the  friends  of  the  Order.  The  Nor- 
bertine  Tertiaries  were  originally  called  "Fratres  et 
Sorores  ad  succurrendum, "  from  the  assistance  given  to 
and  received  from  the  Order.  This  name  is  also  given 
in  the  Brief  of  Pope  Benedict  XIV,  concerning  them.  It 
is  probable  that  this  brotherhood  did  not  take  the  name 
of  "Third  Order"  until  the  later  foundation  of  similar 
institutions. 

The  solemn  aggregation  of  Count  Theobald  to  the 
Order  of  Premontre,  could  not  fail  to  act  as  a  powerful 
stimulus  to  his  religious  fervor,  and  as  an  edifying 
example  to  his  courtiers  and  people.  "Within  the  very 
confines  of  his  castle  he  founded,  a  few  years  later,  the 
Abbey  of  Chateau- Thierry,  in  order  to  be  able  to  have 


9  Manual  Historique  des  Ordres  Religieux,"  pp.  98-136. 

10  "Collectanea  Anglo-Praemonstratensia,"  Vol.  I,  p.  VI. 


158  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

at  all  times  the  disciples  of  St.  Norbert  about  him.  At 
the  request  of  the  abbot,  Godfrey  by  name,  who  once 
belonged  to  the  court  of  Theobald,  and  who  considered 
the  castle  too  worldly  for  a  monastery,  the  abbey  was 
transferred  to  Valsecret,  in  the  diocese  of  Soissons,  in  the 
year  1140.  Although  Valsecret  was  but  a  short  distance 
from  the  castle,  Theobald  insisted  on  always  having  two 
Premonstratensian  Canons  about  him.  To  these  he  con- 
fided the  direction  of  his  conscience,  the  distribution  of 
his  alms,  and  the  spiritual  care  of  the  inhabitants  of  his 
domains.  Fath.  Valbonne  in  his  "Vie  de  St.  Bernard," 
observes:  "Two  Premonstratensians  accompanied  the 
devout  prince  Theobald  on  all  his  journeys.  Wherever 
he  held  his  court,  they  distributed  his  alms  and  secretly 
carried  them  to  the  homes  of  timid  poor.  They  also  gave 
hospitality  to  clerics  and  monks  who  came  to  treat  with 
the  Count."11 

When  Theobald  died,  on  Jan.  10th,  1151,  Norbert  in- 
deed was  not  there  to  bless  and  strengthen  him,  but  by 
his  bedside  were  disciples  of  the  Saint  to  comfort  him 
in  his  last  hour.  His  name  was  inscribed  by  loving  hands 
in  the  Necrology  of  Premontre  and  Valsecret,  and  the 
Ephemerides  Hagiologicae  of  the  Order  give  on  Sept. 
26th,  a  sketch  of  his  life.12 

Many  followed  the  good  example  of  Count  Theobald 
and  joined  the  Third  Order  of  Premontre.  The  Counts 
of  Brienne,  who  founded  the  Abbey  of  Basse-Fontaine,  in 
the  diocese  of  Troyes,  became  especially  remarkable 

11  See  Illana,  o.  c.,  p.  146. 

12  The  particulars  of  the  life  of  Count  Theobald  have  been 
chiefly  taken  from  "Het  Leven  van  den  H.  Norbertus,"  by  G. 
VandenElsen,  who  relied  on  "L'Histoire  des  dues  et  des  comtes 
de  Champagne,"  by  H.  D'Arbois  de  Jubainville.    Tom.  II. 


The  Spread  of  the  Third  Order  159 

among  the  many  disciples  whom  the  spirit  of  the  Holy 
Patriarch  had  attracted.  "And,"  observes  an  old  writer, 
"so  exact  was  their  fidelity  to  the  Rule  drawn  up  for 
them  by  Blessed  Norbert,  that  all  could  see,  that  these 
princes  did  not  wear  the  white  scapular  in  vain.  The 
integrity  of  their  lives  and  the  purity  of  their  morals 
never  belied  the  color  of  their  habit. ' >13  Soon  every  dis- 
trict in  France  and  many  other  parts  of  Europe  gave  a 
number  of  Tertiaries  to  the  family  of  Norbert.  Here 
we  cannot  but  sincerely  regret  the  brevity  of  Norbert 's 
historians.  The  very  names  of  these  first  Tertiaries 
would  not  have  been  without  value  to  us,  and  details  of 
the  lives  of  many  more  would  prove  most  edifying.14 
Each  Premonstratensian  abbey  had  from  the  earliest 
times  its  register  covered  with  names  of  brothers  and 
sisters  "ad  succurrendum, ' '  but  even  these  registers 
seem  to  be  lost.  Still  a  long  list  of  names  can  yet  be 
found  in  the  Necrologies  of  different  abbeys.  Some  of 
these  have  only  recently  been  published,  as  for  instance, 
the  Necrology  of  the  old  Abbey  of  Floreffe,  and  the  Obit- 
uary of  the  Abbey  of  Silly  in  the  diocese  of  Seez,  France. 
We  shall  return  to  this  subject  in  the  second  volume. 

As  to  Norbert,  one  may  well  be  surprised  at  the  mar- 
velous growth  of  the  Saint's  work  in  those  days.  Thus 
far  we  have  enumerated  the  new  abbeys  at  Floreffe,  Cap- 
penberg,  Varlar  and  Ilbenstadt.  As  early  as  1121  a 
foundation  had  also  been  made  at  Viviers,  whither  a 
colony  of  disciples  had  been  called  by  Hugh  le  Blanc, 


13  Acta  SS.  XX,  p.  922. 

i*  Cfr.  Manual  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Norbert,  translated 
from  the  French  by  Abbot  Geudens  and  published  in  London, 
1889. 


160  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Lord  of  Ferte-Milon.  Henry,  one  of  the  early  disciples, 
became  its  first  abbot,  and  is  known  especially  for  his 
great  charity.  A  legend  tells  us  that  at  the  time  of  a 
famine,  when  he  was  distributing  wheat  to  the  poor,  the 
wheat  was  miraculously  multiplied;  and,  on  another 
occasion,  he  by  his  prayer  hastened  the  ripening  of  the 
harvest.15 

In  the  same  year  was  founded  the  Abbey  of  Saint- 
Josse-au-Bois  or  Dommartin.  There  is  a  description  of 
the  origin  of  this  abbey,  written  in  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century  by  one  of  the  religious,16  in  which 
we  read  that  when  Dagobert  was  King  of  France,  St. 
Josse  (Judocus)  having  been  chaplain  to  the  Duke  of 
Ponthieu  for  seven  years,  retired  from  the  world  and 
became  a  solitary.  He  built  a  little  chapel  in  the  desert, 
which  ever  after  his  death  was  used  by  hermits.  Then 
a  certain  Milo  came  to  serve  God  there.  The  number 
of  hermits  having  increased,  they  did  not  think  it  right 
to  live  without  a  superior.  Milo  went  to  Premontre,  and 
with  the  help  of  Norbert,  a  monastery  was  built,  but  not 
until  all  had  placed  themselves  for  some  time  under 
Norbert 's  direction.  Ten  years  later  Milo,  who  had  been 
appointed  Superior  by  Norbert,  became  Bishop  of  The- 
rouanne  and  was  succeeded  by  a  religious  named  Adam, 
who  removed  the  canons  from  St.  Josse-au-bois  to  Dom- 
martin, in  1161. 

Other  monasteries  sprang  from  this  abbey  governed 
by  Milo.  There  was  first  the  abbey  of  Ardenne  near 


is  Ann.  Praem.  Ord.  T.  II,  col.  645.  Vallis  Serena. 

16  This  description  is  found  in  the  Arch.  Publ.  de  Caen. 
Fonds  d'Ardenne.  Further  Cfr.  Hugo  Annal.  T.  I,  col.  621. 
Also  Calonne  "Hist,  des  Abbayes  de  Dommartin  et  St.  Andre- 
aux-bois."  1875,  p.  7. 


More  New  Foundations  161 

Caen.  A  certain  Gilbert,  who  was  from  Caen,  had,  with 
the  other  hermits  of  St.  Josse,'  attached  himself  to  St. 
Norbert.  Having  gone  to  his  native  town,  he  was  re- 
ceived by  a  wealthy  lord,  Aiulphe  du  Four.  He  and  his 
wife  spoke  to  Gilbert  of  a  vision  they  had,  in  which  the 
Blessed  Virgin  asked  them  to  build  a  chapel  in  her 
honor  on  their  property,  called  Ardenne.  Thus  originated 
this  foundation.  At  the  same  time  that  Ardenne  was 
being  built,  another  branch  detached  itself  from  St. 
Josse  to  build,  in  the  diocese  of  Rouen,  the  abbey  of  St. 
Nicholas-de-Thelle,  later  called  Marcheroux.  Ulric,  the 
first  abbot,  had  forty  canons  regular  under  him.  He 
also  founded  at  a  short  distance  from  this  abbey,  a  house 
for  Sisters,  the  convent  of  Beaumont-les-Nonnains.17 

More  celebrated  than  any  of  these  was  the  abbey  of 
Cuissy.  Since  1114  there  dwelt  here  in  a  deserted  place, 
a  Canon  of  the  cathedral  of  Laon,  Luc  by  name.  Dis- 
ciples had  joined  him,  and,  acting  upon  the  advice  of  the 
Bishop  of  Laon,  they  all  placed  themselves  under  the 
direction  of  Norbert.  This  was  in  1122.  Two  years 
later  Bishop  Bartholomew  consecrated  Luc  as  Praemon- 
stratensian  Abbot  of  Cuissy.  His  great  sanctity  was 
known  to  all.  St.  Bernard  corresponded  with  him  about 
the  year  1130,  in  regard  to  a  convent  for  nuns,  built  by 
Luc  near  the  abbey  of  Cuissy.  (Cfr.  Letter  LXXIX.) 
The  abbey  of  Cuissy  and  the  neighboring  abbey  of  Vau- 
clair  became  renowned  for  their  exquisite  calligraphy 
and  miniature-painting,  which  may  still  be  seen  in  dif- 
ferent manuscripts.18 


IT  Ann.  T.  II,  Marchasium  Radulphi,  col.  127. 
is  Cfr.  De  Florival.    Barthelemy  de  Vir,  p.  173  et  seq.    Also 
General  Cat.  of  the  Publ.  Library  of  Laon.    I,  p.  96,  et  seq. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  APOSTLE  OF  ANTWERP. 

Jam  Tanchelini  per  te  Nor~berte  nefandam, 
Conversa  ejurat  Belgica  terra  luem. 

Vainly  Tanchelm  strove  to  sow 

Seeds  of  heresy  and  woe 

In  the  peaceful  land  of  Flanders.     .    .     . 

If  anyone  thinks  that  in  Christian  Europe  during  the 
twelfth  century  people  were  but  blind  followers  of  a 
fanatic  faith,  he  must  indeed  be  glaringly  ignorant  of 
that  period  of  history.  ' '  The  disorder  and  moral  relaxa- 
tion/' thus  writes  the  historian  Darras,1  "  naturally  de- 
veloped by  the  War  of  Investitures,  favored  the  rise,  in 
the  Western  Churches,  of  numerous  sects  more  or  less 
closely  allied  to  Manicheism,  and  tending  to  raise  vice 
to  the  dignity  of  a  system.  These  errors  were  thus  a 
continuation  of  the  series  which  had  agitated  Orleans, 
Arras  and  Toulouse,  remains  of  the  Eastern  Paulicians, 
and  forerunners  of  all  modern  systems  which,  under 
various  names,  aim  at  the  overthrow  of  all  authority,  of 
hierarchical  subordination,  of  the  family  and  society. 
Their  doctrinal  errors,  though  agreeing  in  some  points — 
such  as  the  uselessness  of  the  sacraments,  of  the  invoca- 
tion and  veneration  of  the  saints,  and  of  prayers  for  the 
dead — are  at  variance  in  others,  according  to  the  views 
of  their  leaders.  But  their  view  of  moral  obligation  is 


iCfr.  Darras.  "General  History  of  the  Church,"  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  201. 

162 


SAINT  NORBERT  REFUTES  TANCHELM. 


Kollektion  Hanfstaengl  Miinchen 

Kgrl.  Pinakothek. 
719.     Barend  Van  Orley 


Tanchelm  the  Heretic  163 

one:  denial  of  all  authority  and  rule — license  and  scan- 
dal. The  first  of  these  names  which  we  meet  in  the 
twelfth  century  is  that  of  Peter  Bruys,  whose  followers 
styled  themselves  Petrobusians.  He  traversed  Dauphiny, 
Provence  and  Languedoc,  destroying  and  burning 
crosses,  rebaptizing  children,  teaching  that  churches  are 
useless,  as  God  wishes  no  other  temple  than  the  uni- 
verse. He  was  followed  by  excited  crowds  who  but- 
chered the  priests,  plundered  and  burned  the  churches 
and  gave  themselves  up  to  the  most  shameful  excesses. 
.  .  .  Antwerp  had  been  thrown  into  a  state  of  similar 
disorder  by  a  fanatic  named  Tankelin  or  Tanchelm  .  .  . 
who  revived  the  traditions  of  the  Adamites  and  pre- 
tended to  restore  the  world  to  its  state  of  primitive  nak- 
edness by  recalling  its  lost  innocence." 

Tanchelm,  a  talented  but  haughty  layman,  had 
preached  his  doctrines  in  the  early  years  of  the  twelfth 
century,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Antwerp.  Thence  he 
went  to  the  diocese  of  Utrecht.  He  had  also  propagated 
his  pernicious  doctrines  along  the  banks  of  the  Rhine. 
Elated  by  his  success,  for  his  followers  were  many,  he 
put  on  a  monastic  habit  and  went  to  Rome ;  there  he 
sought  by  various  means  to  have  the  Pope  attach  the 
seal  of  Rome  to  his  nefarious  work.  Needless  to  say,  he 
was  unsuccessful,  and  returned  by  way  of  Cologne.  This 
was  in  the  year  1112.2  While  in  Cologne  he  was  seized 
by  German  soldiers  and  handed  over  to  the  Archbishop 
as  a  dangerous  individual  and  an  impostor,  for  we  -must 
not  forget  that  society  was  no  less  interested  than  reli- 
gion in  the  suppression  of  these  sectaries.  He  was  put 
in  prison  but  escaped,  and  we  read  that  the  following 

2  Pertz,  Script.  XVI.  Annales  Veterocelles,  1112. 


164  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

year  he  was  driven  out  of  Bruges  by  clergy  and  laity. 
In  1115  he  was  driven  from  Louvain  by  Godfrey,  Duke 
of  Lorraine,  and  that  same  year  he  died  a  miserable 
death.3 

Tanchelm's  followers  affected  a  life  of  poverty  and 
austerity,  opposed  the  power  of  the  Pope  and  of  all 
ecclesiastical  authorities.  They  called  themselves  the 
poor  of  Christ,  the  imitators  of  the  Apostles,  and  ac- 
cordingly assumed  the  title  of  ' '  Apostolicals. "  They  not 
only  admired  their  shockingly  immoral  leader,  "but," 
observes  Abelard,  quoted  by  the  Bollandists,4  "they  ac- 
tually adored  him  as  the  son  of  God."  In  a  letter  ad- 
dressed by  the  clergy  of  Utrecht  to  the  Archbishop  of  Co- 
logne, we  find  in  a  few  words  the  synopsis  of  Tanchelm's 
errors.  "The  Pope  is  nobody;  archbishops  and  bishops 
are  nobody;  priests  and  clerics  are  nobody;  the  Church 
is  I  and  my  followers."  If  we  may  speak  of  any  heretic 
excelling  in  the  pernicious  doctrines  and  practices  of  the 
Neo-Manicheism  of  those  days,  Tanchelm  certainly  merits 
that  distinction.  We  read  in  that  same  letter,  that  one  day 
he  performed  a  mock-marriage  with  a  statue  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  in  a  public  square,  and  the  people,  blind- 
ed, came  to  offer  him  wedding  presents.5  He  and  his  fol- 
lowers regarded  the  Blessed  Eucharist  especially  with 
peculiar  horror,  which  they  constantly  manifested  by 
the  most  shocking  profanations.  "Without  staining  our 
pages  with  repulsive  details,  let  it  be  sufficient  to  state 
that  contemporary  writers  declare  that  the  deeds  per- 

s  Ace.  to  Madelaine,  p.  271,  who  quotes  Pertz,  his  skull  was 
crushed  by  an  indiscreetly  zealous  priest. 

*Cfr.  Acta  SS.  T.  XXjlp.  832. 

s  Ibidem.  Epistola  Trajectensis  Ecclesiae  ad  Freder.  Epis- 
cop.  de  Tanchelmo  seductore. 


The  Cause  of  the  Spread  of  This  Heresy         165 

petrated  by  Tanchelm  and  his  followers  are  too  loath- 
some and  horrible  for  description.6 

And  the  poor  deluded  people!  How  lamentable  to 
see  a  country,  Christian  for  generations  past,  going  back 
not  only  to  pagan  immorality,  but  casting  off  all  moral 
restraint,  and  encouraging  a  purely  animal  life!  We 
here  ask  ourselves,  how  was  it  possible  that  a  sect,  whose 
doctrines  tended  to  the  utter  destruction  even  of  all 
social  order,  could  successfully  establish  itself  in  a  Chris- 
tian country  ?  As  an  iconoclast,  Tanchelm  held  out  to  the 
rulers  the  treasurers  of  the  churches,  and  as  a  reformer 
he  pleased  the  ignorant  by  removing  all  moral  restraint. 
Here  then  is  the  cause  of  the  rapid  spread  of  this  as  of 
almost  every  heresy. 

Eight  years  had  now  passed  since  the  principal  author 
of  these  monstrous  disorders  died,  and  the  moral  state 
of  the  people  in  Antwerp  was  most  pitiable.  Antwerp 
then  belonged  to  the  diocese  of  Cambray,  but  at  present 
it  is  in  the  archdiocese  of  Malines.  In  the  year  1119 
good  Bishop  Burchard  sent  thither  twelve  of  his  canons 
to  extirpate  the  heresy  and  try  to  restore  order.  They 
were  attached  to  the  church  of  St.  Michael,  which  had 
been  built  by  Godfrey  of  Bouillon  before  he  set  out  for 
the  Holy  Land.  All  were  zealous  priests  who  worked 
hard  to  restore  not  only  the  faith  but  also  virtue  to  the 
poor  deluded  people.  Alas!  these  canons  thought  the 
evils  too  great  and  too  deeply  rooted  to  be  eradicated  by 
them!.  In  their  distress  they  returned  to  Cambray  and 
conferred  with  Bishop  Burchard.  The  result  of  this 
conference  was  that  both  the  canons  and  the  bishop 


e  Vita  B.  Ch.  XXXVI.  .  .  .  Balneum  ejus  bibebant  .  .  -. 
in  tantum  ut  se  infelicem  diceret  quae  huic  conjunction!  ne- 
fariae  misceri  non  meruisset. 


166  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

thought  Norbert  the  very  man  capable  of  restoring  Chris- 
tian life  in  Antwerp. 

Norbert  was  at  this  time  busily  engaged  in  his  solitude 
at  Premontre,  confirming  his  brave  but  inexperienced 
sons  in  their  fervor  and  spiritual  life.  By  word  and  ex- 
ample he  was  their  leader  in  the  strictest  observance  of 
the  rules,  and  by  his  wise  counsels  he  encouraged  them 
in  their  daily  struggles.  No  one  would  have  thought 
him  at  this  time  a  Saint,  the  reputation  of  whose  sanc- 
tity was  attracting  the  eyes  of  Europe.  He  was  humble 
and  pious — a  true  servus  servorum.  But  Bishop  Bur- 
chard,  who  had  known  him  for  years  and  was  well  ac- 
quainted also  with  his  great  success  as  missionary  and 
convert-maker,  valued  him  at  his  true  worth. 

A  deputation  from  the  bishop  came  to  Premontre 
to  explain  to  Norbert  the  pitiable  state  of  Antwerp.  The 
man  of  God,  whose  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls  con- 
sumed him,  was  at  once  ready  to  comply  with  the  bishop 's 
request.  Was  not  this,  thus  he  reasoned,  a  great  oppor- 
tunity to  do  missionary  work?  To  bring  back  to  God 
not  ordinary  sinners  only,  but  heretics — people  who  had 
given  up  their  faith — what  could  be  more  noble,  what 
work  more  apostolic?  Guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
Saint  not  for  a  moment  hesitated,  but  set  out  at  once  for 
his  new  scene  of  labor,  accompanied  by  Evermode, 
Waltman,  and  other  disciples,  wholly  imbued  with  his 
apostolic  spirit.  They  were  twelve  in  all,  and  once  ar- 
rived at  their  destination,  those  fervent  apostles  lost  no 
time  in  opening  what  we  would  to-day  call  a  great  ' '  Mis- 
sion. ' ' 

To  the  credit  of  the  twelve  canons  who  had  left,  be  it 
remarked  here,  that  their  work  had  not  been  entirely  un- 
successful, for  as  a  result  of  their  efforts  a  reaction  had 


Norbert  at  Antwerp  167 

already  set  in,  and  the  good  and  pious  people  of  Ant- 
werp, however  small  their  number,  hailed  the  coming 
of  Norbert  as  that  of  their  savior.  The  historian  H.  Q. 
Janssen  informs  us7  that  the  Saint  upon  his  arrival 
found  the  church  crowded  with  people  curious  to  know 
what  the  Saint  had  to  say.  The  same  historian  describes 
Norbert  ascending  the  pulpit — his  emaciated  features, 
his  white  habit,  his  expressive  and  charming  voice,  his 
gestures.  But  it  was  not  these  that  gave  him  that  super- 
natural power  of  awakening  emotion  and  stirring  his 
hearers  to  conviction,  it  was  his  own  personal  holiness. 
In  the  "Life"  of  Bl.  Hugh  we  find  only  a  few  words  of 
the  first  sermon  delivered  by  Norbert  on  this  occasion, 
but  they  are  of  great  significance. 

"Brethren,"  he  began,  "I  am  aware  that  the  ignor- 
"ance  of  truth,  rather  than  the  love  of  error,  is  the 
"principal  cause  of  your  forsaking  the  true  religion.  If 
"truth  had  been  announced  to  you,  I  know  you  would 
"have  followed  it  with  as  great  eagerness  as  you  have 
"followed  error.  You  suffered  yourselves  to  be  misled 
"too  easily,  and  now  I  hope  that  you  will  suffer  your- 
"  selves  to  be  saved  easily  by  us.  .  .  ."8  In  his  first 
address  to  the  people,  instead  of  censure  or  reproach, 
Norbert  combined  the  gentleness  of  persuasion  with  the 
force  of  conclusive  argument.  No  invectives,  no  per- 
sonalities, but  in  everything  charity  according  to  the 
rule  of  the  Apostle.  It  was  this  sentiment  which  our  late 
Holy  Father,  Pope  Pius  X,  so  beautifully  expressed 
when  he  said:  "Non  possumus  aedificare  Ecclesiam 
super  ruinam  charitatis."  (We  can  never  build  up  the 
Church  on  the  ruins  of  charity.) 

7  See  VandenElsen,  p.  130. 

s  Cfr.   Vita  B.  Ch.  XXXVI.    Also  Taiee,  PrSmontre,  I,  p.  26. 


168  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Norbert's  disciples  followed  his  example,  and  their 
sermons  produced  deep  and  lasting  impressions.  The 
most  ignorant  could  not  fail  to  see  the  immense  differ- 
ence between  the  preaching  of  Norbert  and  of  Tanchelm 
and  his  disciples.  "While  the  latter  appealed  to  violence 
and  vice  in  a  most  ostentatious  manner,  the  Saint  quietly 
made  an  urgent  appeal  to  all  that  was  most  noble  in 
man.  Moreover,  Norbert  had  come  not  in  the  name  of 
Satan  but  of  the  Most  High,  and  his  conduct  and  irre- 
proachable life  fully  justified  his  mission.  Consequently, 
it  was  not  difficult  even  for  the  most  illiterate  to  see  on 
which  side  was  truth. 

Antwerp  soon  bent  its  head  in  shame.  Striking 
their  breasts  with  the  deepest  sorrow,  the  people  came 
and  knelt  at  the  feet  of  the  missionaries  to  receive  par- 
don from  Almighty  God.  "Men  and  women,"  observes 
Bl.  Hugh  in  his  Life,  "came  to  them  after  having  puri- 
fied their  consciences  by  a  sincere  confession,  and  in 
large  numbers  brought  back  to  the  missionaries  the  Sac- 
red Hosts,  which  from  ten  to  fifteen  years  and  more, 
they  had  kept  in  their  houses  and  most  sacrilegiously 
dishonored."9  Within  a  very  short  time,  in  fact  a  few 
weeks,  the  whole  city  seemed  entirely  transformed,  and 
never  before  did  the  faithful  assist  at  the  celebration  of 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  with  more  genuine  piety. 
The  poor  people  now  felt  as  if  they  had  been  living  in  a 
dream,  and  had  at  last  awakened  to  the  reality  of  their 
former  Christian  and  Catholic  life.  The  name  of  Nor- 
bert was  on  the  lips  of  all,  and  they  were  unable  to  suffi- 
ciently express  their  lively  gratitude  to  our  dear  Saint. 

*>  In  the  museum  of  Antwerp  (No.  107)  we  find  a  painting, 
from  the  hand  of  C.  De  Vos,  representing  St.  Norbert  collecting 
the  Sacred  Hosts. 


St.  Michael's  Abbey  at  Antwerp  169 

Good  Bishop  Burchard  and  his  Canons  also  greatly  re- 
joiced on  hearing  of  the  happy  result.  In  fact  a  most 
sincere  enthusiasm  was  shared  by  every  one,  and  from 
that  day  forward  Norbert  was  called  by  the  "Vox  Pop- 
uli"  the  Apostle  of  Antwerp  and  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment. 

The  people,  as  well  as  the  bishop,  entreated  Norbert  to 
accept  the  church  at  Antwerp,  and  establish  there  a 
house  of  the  Order;  and  the  Canons  who  had  been  at- 
tached to  St.  Michael's  freely  offered  to  move  to  an- 
other part  of  the  city,  which  eventually  they  did,  and 
thus  originated  the  famous  cathedral  of  St.  Mary  at 
Antwerp.10  Norbert  accepted  the  liberal  offer  of  the 
bishop  and  founded  at  that  place  the  celebrated  abbey 
of  St.  Michael,  which  until  the  time  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution, had  continued  the  great  work  inaugurated  by  the 
Saint.  He  installed  Bl.  Waltman  as  its  first  abbot. 
Burning  with  apostolic  zeal  and  faithful  to  the  Coun- 
sels of  his  spiritual  father,  Waltman  sent  out  disciples 
to  preach  the  Gospel  in  the  neighboring  towns  and  vil- 
lages, and  so  thoroughly  extirpated  whatever  remained 
of  Tanchelm's  heresy  in  this  province.  Thus  the  abbey 
of  Antwerp  became  a  great  center  of  civilization,  and 
within  ten  years  established  three  other  abbeys  which 
have  since  preserved  the  faith  in  these  provinces.11 

ioCfr.  Cath.  Encyclop.  Vol.  I,  p.  589:  "The  Cathedral  of 
Antwerp  was  originally  a  small  Premonstratensian  shrine 
known  familiary  as  "Our  Lady  of  the  Stump." 

11  These  were:  the  abbey  of  Middelburg  in  Zeeland,  and  the 
two  abbeys— Tongerloo  and  Averbode— which  exist  to  this  day, 
both  in  the  province  of  Antwerp.  St.  Michael's  abbey  also 
founded  two  convents  for  Norbertine  Nuns,  one  at  Zoetendaal 
and  one  at  Vroenhout.  The  latter  is  at  present  at  Oosterhout 
in  Holland,  and  has  a  foundation  at  Neerpelt  in  Belgium. 


170  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Once  order  was  restored  in  Antwerp,  Norbert  made 
every  endeavor  to  help  the  people  to  persevere  in  their 
good  resolutions.  But  among  all  the  aids  to  persever- 
ance, there  was  one  ,of  which  he  spoke  continually,  the 
one  on  which,  in  the  Saint's  opinion,  the  future  religious 
life  of  the  people  depended,  and  that  was  a  sincere  de- 
votion to  the  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Altar.  Since 
Tanchelm  had  tried  hard  to  eradicate  all  respect  for  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  Norbert  resolved  to  revive  it  and  be  its 
apostle.  He  ordered  special  services  to  be  held  with  the 
greatest  solemnity  to  make  reparation  to  Our  Dear  Lord 
for  the  outrages  He  had  endured,  and  for  the  many  sac- 
rileges that  had  been  committed.  Large  crowds  assisted 
at  these  solemnities,  and  before  long  a  genuine  devotion, 
more  fervent  perhaps  than  ever  before,  possessed  the 
hearts  of  the  faithful. 

Norbert  found  another  means  of  perseverance  in  a 
sincere  devotion  to  our  Heavenly  Queen,  and  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  his  Third  Order.  He  placed  the  new  ab- 
bey church  under  the  patronage  of  the  Bl.  Virgin,  and 
at  that  time  implanted  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  that 
filial  love  for  God's  Holy  Mother,  which  in  due  time 
would  manifest  itself  in  the  building  of  a  magnificent 
cathedral  in  her  honor — a  church  famous  for  its  splen- 
dor and  exquisite  beauty  the  whole  world  over.  Further, 
in  regard  to  his  Third  Order,  we  find  the  Bollandists 
specifying  some  of  its  results,  so  visible  at  Antwerp 
about  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century.  There  exists 
a  contract  of  Brotherhood,  made  in  the  year  1135,  be- 
tween the  Canons  of  Notre  Dame  at  Antwerp  and  the 
Premonstratensian  Canons  of  St.  Michael's  Abbey,  in 
which  it  is  stated,  that  those  parishioners  of  Notre  Dame 
who  desire  aggregation,  to  the  Premonstratensians,  "can, 


(Window  in  Cathedral  of  Antwerp.) 

TRIUMPH  OF  SAINT  NORBERT. 


Norbert  fs  Departure  is  Deeply  Regretted        171 

"on  taking  the  Rule  and  White  Habit  of  the  Order, 
"receive  the  sacraments  from  them,  and  be  buried  by 
"them  and  in  their  cemeteries."12  That  in  this  con- 
tract there  is  evidently  question  of  the  Third  Order,  is 
further  made  plain  in  the  Acta  SS.13 

"When  Norbert  finally  left  the  city  of  Antwerp  to  re- 
turn to  Premontre,  his  departure  was  deeply  regretted 
by  all.  The  people  realized  that  a  saint,  to  whom  they 
now  owed  their  faith  and  virtue,  was  leaving  them. 
They  proclaimed  him  as  the  Apostle  of  their  city  and  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and,  observes  a  writer  of  Ant- 
werp in  the  seventeenth  century,  in  order  to  proclaim 
Norbert 's  great  deeds  to  posterity,  the  people  from  that 
time  gave  the  name,  Norbert,  to  their  children.  Further, 
out  of  gratitude  to  the  Saint,  they  placed  several  beauti- 
ful windows  in  the  church  of  Notre  Dame  at  Antwerp, 
representing  the  triumphant  procession  of  the  people, 
after  their  conversion  by  Norbert.  They  also  inscribed 
under  a  tableau  in  one  of  the  chapels  of  this  basilica  in 
which  Norbert  is  represented,  these  beautiful  words: 

"Quod  Amandus  inchoarat, 
"Quod  Eligius  plantarat, 
"Willibrordus  irrigarat, 
"Tanchelinus  devastarat, 
"Norbertus  restituit."!* 

Thus  did  Norbert  become  an  apostle  of  the  Bl.  Sacra- 
ment, and  because  of  this  victory  at  Antwerp,  the  Saint 
is  usually  represented  holding  in  his  hand  a  Monstrance, 

12  Hugo  Annales  T.  II,  col.  CGI. 

is  T.  XX,  p.  922. 

i*  "St.  Amandus  prepared  the  soil  for  the  reception  of  the 
"faith  which  St.  Eligius  planted,  St.  Willibrord  irrigated,  Tan- 
"chelm  devastated,  but  St.  Norbert  restored."  (Frontispiece.) 


172  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

while  the  heretic  Tanchelm  lies  prostrate  at  his  feet. 
The  Monstrance  is  the  emblem  of  his  devotion  to  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  and  the  prostrate  heretic  symbolizes 
Norbert's  triumph  over  the  Sacramentarian  Heresy  of 
this  fanatic.  Two  paintings  from  the  hand  of  Rubens, 
representing  the  Triumph  of  St.  Norbert  at  Antwerp, 
were  preserved  in  the  abbey  of  St.  Michael  until  the 
time  of  the  French  Revolution.  One  of  these  is  to  be 
found  today  in  the  Kensington  Museum  in  London.  A 
famous  painting  of  this  same  scene  is  preserved  at 
Cologne,  and  one  at  Magdeburg,  besides  a  large  number 
in  the  different  abbeys  of  the  Order.  Bayerlinck,  speak- 
ing of  the  Chronicles  of  Miraeus  in  regard  to  Norbert's 
Triumph  at  Antwerp,  says:  "The  Order  of  White 
1 '  Canons  was  instituted  by  St.  Norbert  in  the  most  diffi- 
"cult  times  of  the  Church,  when  the  Sacramentarian 
* '  and  the  Adamite  Heresies  were  raging.  The  Father  of 
"mercies  had  selected  and  prepared  St.  Norbert,  like 
"another  Alcide^,  to  overthrow  this  heresy/'  And) 
Guerinus  writes  in  his  commentary  on  the  Canticle  of 
Canticles:  "St.  Norbert  with  his  Holy  Order  was 
"raised  up  by  Divine  Providence  to  render  conspicuous 
"in  his  days  two  great  mysteries,  viz:  The  Sacrament 
"of  the  Holy  Eucharist,  and  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
"tion  of  our  Lady." 

Norbert  bequeathed  his  special  devotion  to  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  as  a  legacy  to  his  spiritual  sons.  His  statues 
and  pictures  seem  to  say  to  them:  "Love  the  Holy 
Eucharist;  defend  and  promote  devotion  to  the  Blessed 
Sacrament."  To  further  commemorate  the  Saint's 
Triumph  at  Antwerp,  the  Order  has  kept  a  special  feast, 
which  is  yearly  celebrated  with  great  solemnity  in  the 
different  abbeys.  The  diocese  of  Malines  also  celebrates 


The  Feast  of  Norbert's  Triumph  173 

this  feast,  and  in  all  the  churches  of  Antwerp  there  is 
held  every  year  a  solemn  novena  in  preparation  for  the 
Feast  of  Norbert's  Triumph  over  Tanchelm.  On  May 
17,  1884,  a  plenary  indulgence  was  attached  to  its  cele- 
bration by  Pope  Leo  XIII. 

Of  the  old  St.  Michael's  Abbey  nothing  now  remains. 
The  place  where  this  great  abbey  once  stood,  is  to-day 
indicated  only  by  a  street  named  Convent  Street.  (Kloos- 
ter  Straat).  A  description  of  this  abbey  may  be  found 
in  the  "Acta  Sanctorum,"  as  an  appendix  to  the  Life  of 
St.  Norbert. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  APPROBATION  OF  THE  ORDER. 

Approbat  Calixtus  'multisque  favoribus  ornat 
Praemonstratensis  germina  prima  domus. 

Pope  Calixtus  approves  the  Order  of  Pr^montre  and  grants 
it  many  favors. 

Rumors  of  Norbert 's  signal  victory  over  Tanchelm's 
heresy  at  Antwerp,  soon  spread  throughout  Belgium 
and  France,  and  the  Saint's  apostolic  labors  became  the 
topic  of  conversation.  Good  Bishop  Bartholomew  espe- 
cially, was  full  of  praise  and  admiration  for  Norbert 
and  his  disciples,  and  thanked  God  for  having  given  so 
holy  and  zealous  a  priest  to  his  diocese.  He  now  urged 
his  former  request  of  having  some  of  Norbert 's  disciples 
in  his  episcopal  city. 

As  the  reader  no  doubt  remembers,  there  was  in  Laon 
the  abbey  of  St.  Martin,  which  Norbert  had  tried  in  vain 
to  reform,  five  years  before.  Since  then,  things  had 
gone  from  bad  to  worse,  and  conditions  were  now  truly 
deplorable.  There  was  no  longer  any  discipline  and  the 
life  led  by  the  canons  prevented  many  from  following 
their  vocation  to  the  priesthood.  Bishop  Bartholomew, 
deeply  moved  by  the  sad  state  of  this  abbey,  and  at  the 
same  time  anxious  to  put  a  stop  to  its  many  abuses, 
begged  the  Saint  for  some  of  his  disciples  to  replace  the 
canons  of  St.  Martin's.  At  first,  Norbert  hesitated,  be- 
cause he  was  still  averse  to  the  establishment  of  abbeys 
in  large  cities.  However,  St.  Michael's  Abbey  in  Ant- 
werp was  an  argument  in  the  bishop's  favor,  and  the 
Saint  was  finally  forced  to  yield.  As  soon  as  he  had 
:  174 


The  Foundation  Charter  of  St.  Martin's  Abbey  175 

given  his  word,  Bishop  Bartholomew  at  once  changed 
the  Charter  of  the  Foundation  of  the  Abbey  of  St. 
Martin.  He  made  it  read  as  follows: 

"In  the  name  of  the  holy  and  indivisible  Trinity. 
"Bartholomew,  by  the  grace  of  God,  unworthy  servant 
' '  of  the  church  at  Laon.  .  .  .  Moved  by  the  state  of  deca- 
"dence  of  this  monastery,  we  have  determined  to  con- 
"fide  it  to  the  care  and  government  of  Brother  Norbert, 
"who,  in  the  forest  of  Voas  at  Premontre,  has  estab- 
"lished  the  eremitical  life  under  the  canonical  profession, 
"with  a  great  number  of  servants  of  God.  When  he 
"yielded  to  our  request,  it  was  understood  that  the 
"church  should  remain  under  our  jurisdiction,  and  the 
"jurisdiction  of  our  successors.  The  brethren,  who,  at- 
tracted by  piety,  will  unite  in  this  place  for  the  wel- 
"fare  of  their  souls,  shall  live  here  canonically  under 
1 '  the  authority  of  an  abbot,  whom  they  shall  have  elected 
"according  to  the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine  and  the  Con- 
"stitutions  of  the  monastery  of  Premontre.  In  case  the 
"abbot  of  St.  Martin  should  fail  in  the  fulfillment  of 
"his  duties,  and,  after  having  been  cited  by  the  bishop 
' '  of  Laon  and  the  abbot  of  Premontre  in  the  presence  of 
"the  church  of  Laon,  he  should  remain  obstinate,  the 
"abbots  of  said  Institute  shall  be  called  together  in  a 
"General  Chapter  at  Premontre  to  discuss  his  conduct 
'  *  and  judge  accordingly.  If  he  prove  incorrigible,  he  shall 
"be  deposed  in  conformity  with  the  prescribed  rules  of 
"religion;  and  they  shall  elect  another  abbot  who  shall 
"be  consecrated  and  installed  by  the  bishop  of  Laon."1 

i  Among  the  different  seals  attached  to  this  document  we 
find  the  seal  of  St.  Bernard,  the  illustrious  Abbot  of  Clairvaux. 
Cfr.  Le  Paig  Biblioth.  Ord.  Praem.,  p.  446.  Also  letter  253  of 
St.  Bernard. 


176  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

At  the  head  of  the  twelve  religious  who  were  sent  to 
Laon,  Norbert  placed  Gautier  of  St.  Maurice,  one  of  the 
seven  young  students  who  had  first  come  with  Norbert 
to  Premontre.  No  better  choice  could  have  been  made, 
since  Gautier  during  his  four  years  at  Premontre  had 
distinguished  himself  by  his  love  for  study  and  prayer. 
He  was  a  second  Norbert,  and  therefore  could  conquer 
the  almost  insurmountable  obstacles  to  this  new  founda- 
tion. 

Upon  their  arrival,  the  brethren  found  themselves  des- 
titute of  even  the  necessities  of  life,  except,  as  the  Bol- 
landists  observe,  for  a  donkey  by  the  name  of  Burdin.2 
On  the  first  morning  some  of  the  brethren  went  with  this 
donkey  into  the  forest  of  Voas  to  gather  wood.  On  the 
back  of  Burdin  they  brought  back  a  load  which  they  then 
sold.  In  this  way  they  were  enabled,  in  the  beginning, 
to  buy  bread;  and  many  a  day  did  they  have  to  wait 
till  the  afternoon  before  the  wood  was  sold.  The  monk 
Hermannus  of  Laon  testifies  to  the  fact  that  in  the  midst 
of  this  poverty,  all  the  brethren  were  truly  happy  and 
contented.  They  cultivated  the  surrounding  land  and 
thus  soon  provided  for  their  material  welfare.  They 
then  laid  the  foundation  of  the  abbey  church,  which 
exists  to  this  day,  and  is  most  remarkable  for  its  archi- 
tecture. In  a  word,  under  the  able  management  of  Gau- 
tier, who  in  the  year  1150  became  Bishop  of  Laon,  St. 
Martin's  was,  in  a  few  years,  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
abbeys  of  the  Order.  "Within  the  short  period  of  twelve 
years,  this  foundation  counted  no  less  than  five  hun- 

2  Acta  SS.  T.  I.  Analecta  Norbertina,  p.  852.  Ut  praeter  unum 
asinum,  Burdinum  nomine,  nihil  pene  aliud  haberent.  .  .  . 


The  Rapid  Growth  of  Norbert 's  Order.         177 

dred  religious ;  and,  in  wealth,  it  surpassed  all  other  monas- 
teries of  the  diocese.3 

No  sooner  was  a  certain  regularity  established  in  the 
abbey,  than  Abbot  Gautier,  after  the  example  of  Norbert, 
went  out  preaching.  He  went  to  Germany,  the  Low 
Countries,  France  and  also  to  Switzerland ;  thus,  in  a  very 
few  years,  the  abbey  of  St.  Martin  had  become,  in  the 
true  sense  of  the  word,  another  Premontre. 

After  Norbert 's  success  in  Antwerp,  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  Order  seems  nothing  short  of  miraculous.  Every 
day  brought  new  postulants  to  Premontre,  and  numerous 
bishops  entreated  Norbert  to  send  them  some  of  his  dis- 
ciples. When  the  Saint  was  at  Liege,  where  Bishop 
Alberon  was  holding  his  synod  at  the  time,  he  first  re- 
ceived a  document  by  which  the  abbey  of  Floreffe  was 
confirmed.  To  show  how  highly  Bishop  Alberon  es- 
teemed the  Order,  we  here  mention  the  fact  that  he 
offered  Norbert  at  the  same  time  the  abbey  of  Mount 
Cornillon,  which,  being  situated  in  the  diocese  of  Liege, 
enabled  the  bishop  to  have  the  religious  near  him.  The 
bishop  then  relieved  the  members  of  Mount  Cornillon 
from  their  allegiance  to  the  Victorians  at  Paris,4  and 
placed  the  abbey  at  the  disposal  of  Norbert.  The  Saint 
sent  for  religious  from  the  new  abbey  of  Floreffe,  and 
appointed  Blessed  Luke  as  the  first  abbot. 

An  ancient  secular  chapter,  situated  at  Wenau,  near 
Cologne,  had  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  abbot 
of  Floreffe,  who  changed  it  into  a  convent  for  Norbertine 

3  Ibid.  Infra  duodecim  annos  plusquam  quingentorum  fra- 
trum  numerus  inveniretur  .  .  .  Adeo  ut  jum  inter  praeci- 
pua  et  excellentia  Pranciae  monasteria  computetur.  Cfr.  also 
Leqeux.  Antiq.  relig.  T.  II,  p.  81  et  seq. 

*  See  G.  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  138. 


178  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Sisters.5  In  the  same  year  a  monastery  was  built  on  a 
mountain,  named  Justemont,  in  Lorraine,  where  an 
early  disciple,  Zachary  by  name,  became  the  first  abbot. 
This  foundation  was  made  through  the  generosity  of 
Euphemia,  a  lady  of  Vatronville,  who  acted  in  this  mat- 
ter upon  the  advice  of  her  brother  Ursion,  Bishop  of 
Verdun.  Foundations  were  also  laid  for  the  Abbey  of 
Kieval,  in  the  diocese  of  Toul,  through  the  generosity 
of  the  Counts  of  Barr.  The  first  abbot  was  Herbert,  one 
of  the  early  disciples  from  Laon.  Nor  must  we  forget 
to  mention  that  also  in  this  same  year,  Norbert  founded 
a  convent  for  Sisters  in  Bedburg,  in  the  diocese  of  Co- 
logne, near  his  native  town,  Xanten.  Hugo  even  adds 
that  at  this  time  a  foundation  was  also  made  in  Poland, 
where  Count  Alexander  founded  and  richly  endowed  a 
Premonstratensian  abbey  at  Strzelno.6  But  what  seems 
even  more  wonderful  than  the  founding  of  all  these 
houses  in  so  short  a  time,  is  the  fact  that  never  were  re- 
ligious wanting  to  populate  them.  Truly,  we  again  ex- 
claim, the  blessing  of  Divine  Providence  rested  visibly  on 
the  work  of  St.  Norbert. 

Although  the  Order  had  existed  now  for  three  years, 
thus  far  it  had  received  only  episcopal  approbation.  True, 
the  Holy  Father  while  at  Laon,  had  encouraged  Norbert 
in  his  plans,  and  thus  approved  of  his  work,  but  a  papal 
document  confirming  the  Order  had  not  as  yet  been  is- 


s  Cfr.  Madelaine,  who  quotes  Annal.  Ord.  Praem.  T.  II,  col. 
1159.  Further  Barbier.  Hist,  de  1'Abbaye  de  Floreffe,  p.  14 
Le  Paige  Biblioth,  p.  307. 

e  Cfr.  Charles  Hugo  "Annales  Ordin.  Praem."  T.  II,  col.  933, 
et.  seq.  "Strzelno."  Madelaine  who,  on  page  265,  quotes  Dr. 
Winter,  says  that  according  to  the  latter  this  foundation  wa§ 
made  only  after  Norbert  became  Archbishop. 


Norbert  Obtains  the  Papal  Approbation         179 

sued.  It  happened  that  at  this  time  there  were  two  legates 
of  Pope  Calixtus  II,  with  the  Bishop  of  Noyon  in  Pi- 
cardy.  They  were  Cardinals  Peter  di  Leone  and  Greg- 
ory de  Angelis,  who  had  come  to  publish  the  resolutions 
of  the  Lateran  Council.  The  Saint,  now  well  known  for 
his  preaching  and  miracles,  went  to  them,  and,  humbly 
prostrate  at  their  feet,  implored  as  a  great  favor  to  re- 
ceive the  confirmation  of  his  Order  from  them,  in  the 
Pope's  name.  The  Legates  fully  informed  of  the  great 
good  which  Norbert  and  his  disciples  had  effected  every- 
where, acquiesced  willingly.  The  tenor  of  the  Bull  ex- 
plaining first  the  spirit  of  the  Order,  and  further  giving 
to  it  papal  confirmation,  is  as  follows : 

"  Peter  di  Leone,  priest,  and  Gregory  de  Angelis, 
"deacon,  Cardinals  and  Legates  of  the  Holy  See — to 
"our  venerable  brother  Norbert  and  to  all  his  brethren 
"who  profess  under  him  the  canonical  life,  health  and 
"benediction. 

"We  give  thanks  to  Almighty 'God,  because  He  has  in- 
"  spired  you  to  renew  the  praiseworthy  lives  of  the  holy 
"Fathers  and  to  raise  up  an  Institute  founded  on  the 
' '  teachings  of  the  Apostles,  which  flourished  in  the  early 
"Church,  but  in  our  times  has  become  nearly  extin- 
guished. For  there  were  in  the  beginning  of  the 
"Church  two  kinds  of  life  practiced  by  her  children; 
"the  one  by  the  weak,  the  other  by  the  strong;  the  one 
"remaining  in  small  'Segor/  the  other  ascending  the 
"summit  of  high  mountains;  the  one  redeeming  sin  by 
' '  penance  and  alms,  the  other  working  to  acquire  eternal 
1 '  merits  by  the  continual  practice  of  virtue ;  the  one  en- 
"  gaged  in  worldly  affairs,  the  other,  raised  on  high,  de- 
"spismg  and  forsaking  worldly  goods. 

"But  the  kind  of  life  which,  by  its  fervor,  is  disen- 


180  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

"gaged  from  worldly  things,  is  again  divided  into  two 
"classes  having  nearly  the  same  spirit;  the  first  is  that 
' '  of  canons,  the  other  of  monks.  The  latter  has  by  God 's 
"mercy  not  ceased  to  shine  in  the  Church;  but  the  for- 
"mer,  which  by  relaxation  was  almost  extinguished,  has 
"in  our  days  by  the  mercy  of  God  begun  to  acquire  new 
"life  and  vigor.  The  holy  Pope  and  Martyr,  Urban,  in- 
"stituted  it;  St.  Augustine  gave  it  his  rules;  St.  Jerome 
"reformed  it  by  his  letters.  We  should  therefore  deem 
*'it  not  a  less  meritorious  work  to  re-establish  under 
"God's  inspiration  and  with  His  help  the  apostolic  or 
"canonical  life,  so  well  known  in  the  primitive  Church, 
"than  to  preserve  the  monastic  life  sustained  in  its 
"splendor  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"We,  therefore,  by  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See  whose 
"Legates  we  are,  approve  your  state  of  life,  and  in  the 
"name  of  God  we  exhort  and  beseech  you  to  persevere 
"in  it.  We  also  grant  to  all  those  who  profess  the 
"canonical  life  in  your  monasteries  and  with  the  help 
"of  God  remain  faithful,  the  blessing  of  the  Holy  Apos- 
"tles  St.  Peter  and  Paul,  and  the  pardon  of  their  sins. 
"We  forbid  that  anyone  dare  undertake  to  change  the 
"state  of  your  Order,  the  benefits  of  which  have  been 
"shared  by  so  many  countries,  that  many  more  may  ob- 
"tain  the  blessing  of  your  administrations.  We  also 
"decree  that  no  member  of  your  Order,  from  levity  or 
"even  under  pretext  of  leading  a  more  austere  life,  be 
' '  allowed  to  change  from  your  Order  into  another,  with- 
"out  the  consent  of  the  Abbot  and  of  the  whole  com- 
"munity,  and  we  forbid  any  Abbot  or  Bishop  to  re- 
"ceive  such  without  the  necessary  testimonials  as  to 
"this  unanimous  consent. 

"You,  therefore,  dearest  brethren  in  Christ,  endeavor 


The  Bull  of  Approbation  181 

"with  renewed  zeal  to  fulfill  most  faithfully  what  you 
"have  promised  to  the  Lord.  Let  your  light  shine  be- 
"fore  men  that  they  may  see  your  good  works  and  glor- 
"ify  your  Father  Who  is  in  Heaven.  It  is  in  the  name 
"of  the  Father,  and  of  His  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
"that  we  confirm  your  Institute,  that  it  may  stand  for- 
"ever.  Should  anyone  offend  against  these  decrees,  and 
"after  two  or  three  warnings  not  give  satisfaction,  let 
"him  be  punished  according  to  the  canonical  penal- 
ties. 

"Peter  di  Leone,  priest  and  legate  of  the  Holy  See. 
"Gregory  de  Angelis,  cardinal-deacon  and  legate  of  the 
Holy  See. 

"Written  at  Noyon,  4  Kal.  Julii  (June  28th) 
"of  the  year  of  Our  Lord,  1124,  the  sixth  of 
"the  Pontificate  of  Pope  Calixtus  II." 

Thus  at  last  was  Norbert 's  Order  approved  and  con- 
firmed by  the  highest  authority  on  earth,  and  from  that 
day  forward  it  took  its  place  among  the  Orders  of  Can- 
ons Regular.  Great  must  have  been  the  joy  of  Norbert 
and  the  brethren  when  the  seal  of  Rome  had  been  set 
upon  their  noble  work,  and  this  papal  approbation,  added 
to  the  good  will  of  bishops  and  priests,  gave  a  distinctive 
character  to  the  work  of  the  Saint,  to  the  great  consterna- 
tion of  his  opponents.  Not  all  bishops  and  priests  looked 
upon  the  work  of  Norbert  with  the  same  admiration.  Once 
it  became  known  that  the  new  Order  had  been  approved 
by  the  papal  legates,  several  critics  openly  disapproved 
of  many  things  the  Saint  had  introduced,  and  which 
they  were  pleased  to  call  useless  innovations.  Among 
these  critics  were  Rupert,  Hugh  Metel,  Hugh  Farsit, 
Gautier,  Bishop  of  Maguellone,  and  others.  Rupert  re- 


182  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

preached  Norbert  for  having  added  to  the  Rule  of  St. 
Augustine  observances  of  too  great  severity ;  he  accused 
him  of  lack  of  charity,  since  Norbert  had  never  a  good 
word  for  the  monks  of  Cluny ;  he  complained  that  the 
superiors  of  the  Preiriionstratensians  were  called  abbots 
and  bore  the  crozier,  and  further,  he  thought  it  unworthy 
of  priests  and  especially  of  an  abbot,  to  work  in  the  field, 
look  after  cattle,  and  clean  the  stables.7 

Hugh  Metel  even  went  to  the  above  named  Cardinals 
and  reproached  them  for  having  given  their  approba- 
tion to  the  Order  of  Norbert,  first,  because  unlike  can- 
ons, they  wore  woolen  habits  instead  of  linen;  and  sec- 
ondly, unlike  monks,  they  went  out  preaching.  These 
were  his  reasons  for  calling  this  new  canonical  life  scan- 
dalous.8 

Hugh  Farsit  made  use  of  the  very  same  arguments 
in  his  opposition,  but  his  mode  of  expressing  them  was 
more  offensive.9 

Bishop  Gautier,  in  his  turn,  attacked  Norbert,  but  on 
an  entirely  new  point.  He  reproached  him  for  having 
changed  the  Roman  Breviary,  but  the  good  bishop  was 
evidently  misinformed,  as  we  know  from  the  writings  of 
Cardinal  Jacques  de  Vitry 10  and  also  from  the  cele- 
brated treatise  on  the  Liturgy  by  Cardinal  Bona.11  Be- 

7  Cfr.  Migne  Patrol,  lat.  T.  170.  535-536.  Also  Dom  Martene. 
Amplissima  Collect.  T.  IX.  Liber  de  diversis  Ordinibus  et  Pro- 
fessionibus  quae  sunt  in  Ecclesia.  1053. 

»  Hugo.  Sacrae  Antiq.  Mon.  T.  II,  p.  386.  Epist.  XLI. 

»  Cfr.  Histoire  Litt.  de  la  Prance  T.  XII,  p.  294.  Fr.  Hugonis 
Suessoin.  de  Epistola  ad  Patres  Confluentiae  congregates. 

10  Cfr.  Hugo  "Dissert,  sur  la  Canonicite"  de  1'Ordre  de  Pre- 
montre."    Luxemburg,  1700,  pp.  313-316. 

11  Cfr.  Bona  "De  variis  Ritibus  divinae   Psalmodiae,"  Ch. 
XVIII,  par.  6. 


Attacks  Against  the  Norbertines  183 

sides,  the  Annalist  Hugo  observes  that  in  the  Bull  of 
Pope  Honorius  II,  it  is  clearly  stated  that  the  Premon- 
stratensians  in  regard  to  psalmody  and  other  ecclesias- 
tical offices,  are  to  conform  themselves  to  other  Canons 
Regular.12  It  is  quite  evident,  says  Madelaine,  that  Nor- 
bert  never  tried  to  make  innovations  in  liturgical  mat- 
ters. If  to-day  the  Norbertine  liturgy  is  in  some  re- 
spects different  from  the  Roman,  it  is  because,  in  the 
course  of  time,  the  Roman  liturgy  has  undergone 
changes. 

The  new  Order  was  thus  attacked  on  account  of  the 
habit  the  religious  wore,  the  work  they  did,  the  ritual 
they  used;  nay,  even  their  name  had  become  a  subject 
for  dispute.  The  following  dialogue  was  held  between  a 
religious  of  Cluny  and  a  monk  of  Citeaux : 

The  Clunyite :  "St.  Augustine  has  written  his  rule 
"not  for  monks  but  for  canons  regular.  These  men  pay 
"no  attention  when  one  calls  them  monks.'' 

The  Cistercian:  "Whether  they  wish  to  be  or  not, 
"they  are  monks,  or  they  don't  belong  to  any  Order." 

The  Clunyite:  "Pray,  brother,  why  would  you  make 
"yourself  odious  to  canons  regular  wearing  a  cassock 
"or  wearing  a  surplice,  Norbertines  or  other?" 

The  Cistercian:  "If  I  refuse  to  a  Norbertine  the 
"name  of  Canon  to  give  him  the  name  of  monk,  have  I 
"taken  from  him  an  honorable  name  to  give  him  one 
"that  is  less  glorious?  Like  all  those  who  live  in  com- 
"munity,  the  Norbertines  are  monks.  Moreover,  I  find 
"in  the  history  of  the  Church  a  number  of  Saints  who 
"were  monks,  but  I  never  met  a  single  Saint  who  had 
"been  a  canon." 

12  MSS.  of  Hugo,  p.  28. 


184  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

The  Clunyite :  '  *  St.  Augustine  was  a  canon ;  is  he  not 
"a  Saint?" 

The  Cistercian :  ' '  He  called  himself  monk  in  many  of 
"his  sermons,  in  particular  in  the  sermon  where  he 
"speaks  of  himself  and  the  clerics.  The  Norbertines 
"show  bad  taste  in  refusing  through  self-love  the  title 
"of  monk  in  order  to  be  called  preachers  and  pastors." 

The  Clunyite:  "Be  careful.  You  are  doing  them  a 
1 '  double  injury.  You  call  them  monks,  and  moreover  you 
"call  them  Norbertines,  and  they  do  not  wish  either 
"name." 

The  Cistercian :    "Do  you  know  why  ? ' ' 

The  Clunyite:  "That  is  their  business.  I  think,  judg- 
"ing  from  their  long  cassocks,  that  they  desire  to  be 
"preachers  and  pastors  of  parishes,  which  is  not  allowed 
"to  monks.  Perhaps  they  do  not  wish  to  be  called  Nor- 
"bertines,  because,  as  some  say,  their  founder,  master 
"Norbert,  has  apostatised.  You  can  see  him,  after  hav- 
"ing  made  profession  to  walk  barefooted,  riding  a  splen- 
"did  horse,  attending  banquets,  and  living  at  the  Court 
"of  Emperor  Lothaire."13 

It  is  quite  evident  from  this  dialogue,  and  also  from 
the  above  quotations,  that  neither  the  person  of  Norbert 
nor  his  work  was  spared.  These  criticisms  moreover 
were  freely  discussed  by  clergy  and  laity.  Nor  should 
we  think  lightly  of  these  seemingly  unimportant  sub- 
jects under  discussion,  for  they  were  far-reaching  in 
their  consequences.  The  simple  change,  for  instance, 
of  the  material  of  the  habit  signified,  as  we  know,  the 
union  which  Norbert  had  tried  to  bring  about  between 


is  Cfr.  Dom  Martene.    "Thesaurus  Anecd."    T.  V.  col.  1614. 
The  dialogue  was  held  between  1153-1171.     Madelaine,  p.  302. 


Norbert's  Power  Over  Satan  185 

the  monastic  and  the  canonical  life.  However,  general 
opposition  is  often  but  a  proof  of  the  great  influence  of 
an  Order. 

To  return  to  our  Saint.  After  Norbert  had  received  the 
approbation  of  the  Order  from  the  papal  legates,  he  at 
once  left  Noyon  and  went  to  visit  the  late  foundations 
at  Laon,  Cuissy  and  Viviers.  On  the  day  he  arrived 
at  Viviers,  they  brought  before  him  a  farmer  possessed 
by  the  evil  one.  After  invoking  the  aid  of  the  heavenly 
Queen,  Norbert  cast  out  the  devil  by  a  single  sign  of  the 
Cross.14  It  was  on  this  journey  also  that  Norbert  went 
to  pay  his  respects  to  the  bishop  of  Soissons,  and  to  ask 
him  to  confirm  the  rich  donations  of  Yvo  of  Cathena 
and  his  wife  Helwidis.  Five  years  previous,  this  noble 
woman  had  asked  Norbert 's  prayer  that  God  might 
deign  to  bless  her  marriage.  The  Saint  had  prophesied 
at  the  time  that  one  day  she  herself  with  more  than  one 
child,  would  join  a  religious  order.  She  had  come  now 
to  Norbert  to  offer  herself  with  her  husband  and  little 
children,  and  all  the  wealth  they  possessed  to  help  the 
Saint  in  his  noble  work.15 

Notwithstanding  the  criticisms  of  his  enemies,  Nor- 
bert remained  undisturbed,  and  continued  his  good  work 
most  zealously.  One  of  his  critics,  however,  or  rather 
enemies,  he  seems  to  have  noticed  more  than  the  others, 
and  that  was  Abelard,  of  whom  we  spoke  above.  Ever 
since  his  condemnation  at  the  Synod  of  Soissons,  where 
Norbert  had  exposed  him  as  a  heretic,  Abelard  had  been 
persecuting  Norbert  and  his  disciples  by  biting  sarcasm 
and  ridicule.  At  this  time  Abelard  was  teaching  a  large 

i*  Cfr.  G.  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  143. 
15  ibidem,  p.  144. 


186  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

body  of  students  at  the  ' '  Paraclete. ' '  This  ' '  Paraclete ' ' 
was  situated  in  the  duchy  of  Champagne,  whose  duke, 
Theobald,  was  Norbert's  most  ardent  admirer,  and  even 
a  member  of  the  Order.  "Wo  do  not  know  whether  or  not 
it  was  through  Norbert's  influence  with  Count  Theobald 
that  Abelard  was  forced  to  close  his  school,  but  the  latter 
complained  bitterly  of  the  Saint's  opposition  to  him  at 
this  time.  Says  Jos.  McCabe,  in  his  "Peter  Abelard" 
(p.  226  et  seq.)  :  "We  may  take  Abelard 's  statement 
"literally.  Bernard  and  Norbert  were  doing  the  work 
"of  his  rivals  and  were  doing  it  effectively.  They  who 
"had  supported  him  at  Soissons  or  afterwards,  were 
"being  poisoned  against  him.  Count  Theobald  and 
"Geoffrey  of  Chartres  are  two  whom  he  probably  had 
"in  mind.  He  feels  that  the  net  is  being  drawn  close 
* { about  him.  .  .  .  From  that  time  he  became  morbidly 
"sensitive  and  timorous..  .  .  He  must  fly  from  France 
".  .  .  .  etc." 

Though  Norbert's  enemies  and  critics  were  quite  nu- 
merous, yet  his  sincere  friends  and  admirers  surpassed 
them  by  far.  Their  testimonies  force  upon  us  the  con- 
clusion that  Norbert,  during  this  period  of  error  and 
confusion,  had  rendered  splendid  services  to  religion  and 
to  society.  Guibert,  Abbot  of  Nogent,  who  knew  the 
Saint  most  intimately,  describes  him  as  the  greatest  man 
then  living  in  France,  because  of  his  penetrating  intel- 
lect, his  knowledge  of  the  interior  life,  of  the  sacred 
mysteries  of  our  holy  religion  and  of  the  treasures  of 
Holy  Scripture.16  Anselm,  Bishop  of  Havelberg,  speaks 
in  glowing  terms  of  his  zeal,  his  virtues  and  of  the  uni- 

16  For  references  see  the  Preface  of  "Vie  de  saint  Norbert," 
by  Charles  Louis  Hugo. 


The  Testimonies  of  Norbert's  Admirers         187 

^versal  admiration  in  which  he  was  held.  Hermann  adds 
that  since  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  no  man  had  rendered 
such  great  services  to  the  Church.  And  even  Gautier, 
Bishop  of  Maguelonne,  though  one  of  Norbert's  critics, 
refers  to  him  as  an  incomparable  preacher,  well  versed 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  remarkable  for  the  holiness 
,of  his  life. 

These  and  a  number  of  similar  testimonies  of  contem- 
porary writers,  give  us  a  high  idea  of  Norbert's  piety, 
his  wisdom  and  zeal,  and  at  the  same  time  show  us 
clearly  why  some  feared  him  and  tried  to  depreciate 
him.  However,  among  all  the  friends  and  admirers  of 
St.  Norbert,  the  great  St.  Bernard,  who  in  one  of  his 
letters  (LVI)  refers  to  him  as  the  chosen  organ  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  channel  by  which  God  manifests  His 
will  to  man,  stands  out  quite  prominently.  Since  his 
friendship  will  necessarily  increase  our  love  for  Norbert, 
the  following  chapter  will  deal  with  the  mutual  relations 
between  these  two  eminent  men  of  the  twelfth  century. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ST.  BERNARD  AND  ST.   NORBERT. 

Lotharium*  eloqui\  mira  dulcedine  tractum, 
Mellifluumque  silii  jungit  amore  Patrem. 

By  the  sweetness  of  his  eloquence  Norbert  drew  to  himself 
the  Emperor,  and  by  his  love  won  the  Mellifluous  Doctor. 

Norbert  and  Bernard  were  so  eminently  the  Saints  of 
their  age  and  so  closely  united  in  their  mutual  aim  and 
work,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  judge  rightly  of  the 
one  without  referring  to  the  other.  Both  stand  forth 
as  the  great  pastors,  preachers  and  reformers  of  the 
twelfth  century;  both  appeared  in  the  Councils  of  the 
Church  as  well  as  of  the  State,  and  without  ever  ceasing 
to  be  holy  and  mortified  religious,  both  were  the  ruling 
will  of  the  times. 

Permit  me  first  to  call  attention  to  the  close  similarity 
of  their  life-story.  Bernard,  the  future  Saint  and  cel- 
ebrated Abbot,  was  born  in  the  castle  of  Fontaines  near 
Dijon  in  Burgundy,  when  Norbert  was  in  his  eleventh 
year.  Each  had  a  very  pious  mother,  and  the  birth  of 
each  was  preceded  by  most  remarkable  circumstances. 
While  Hadwigis  heard  a  heavenly  voice  telling  her  of 
the  future  greatness  of  the  child  about  to  be  born,  the 
mother  of  St.  Bernard  had  a  terrible  dream  of  a 
white  dog  barking  incessantly,  which  dream  was  thus 
explained  by  a  man  of  great  sanctity :  ' '  Fear  not ;  you 
shall  be  the  mother  of  a  child  who,  like  a  faithful  dog, 
shall  one  day  guard  the  House  of  the  Lord,  and  bark 
loud  against  the  enemies  of  the  Faith. ' ' 1 


i  Cfr.  "Life  and  Times  of  St.  Bernard,"  by  M.  L'AbbS  Ratis- 
bonne,  translated  from  the  French,  p.  18. 

188 


The  Striking  Resemblance  Between  Them       189 

His  biographer  informs  us  that,  "when  Bernard  was 
nineteen  years  old,  sparkling  with  all  the  brightness  of 
youth  and  genius,  he  no  longer  felt  within  him  the  trans- 
port of  his  former  fervor;  his  piety,  devoid  of  all  con- 
solation, weaned,  so  to  speak,  from  all  its  sweetness, 
it  seemed  no  longer  to  have  either  light  or  heat;  the 
springtime,  with  him,  was  past;  the  shadows  of  night 
were  around  his  soul,  and  the  voice  of  the  turtle  was  no 
longer  heard  therein"  (p.  28). 

Like  Norbert,  Bernard  is  said  to  have  possessed  re- 
markable personal  beauty.  "His  figure  was  perfectly 
proportioned,  his  manners  elegant  and  dignified,  his  eye 
full  of  fire,  his  countenance  sweet  and  gracious ;  his  gait, 
his  movements,  his  attitudes,  his  smile — all  were  modest, 
simple  and  noble;  his  speech  was  naturally  elegant,  im- 
pressive and  persuasive.  There  was  something  in  his 
whole  person  so  amiable  and  so  attractive  that,  according 
to  the  expression  of  one  of  his  biographers,  he  was  more 
dangerous  to  the  world  than  the  world  to  him."  (p.  33.) 

One  day,  on  his  way  to  visit  his  brothers,  who  were 
with  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  as  he  rode  along,  silently 
and  in  deep  thought,  the  world  with  its  perturbation 
and  perpetual  vicissitudes  seemed  to  pass  before  him  as 
a  vain  show,  and  suddenly  a  voice  sounded  in  the  depths 
of  his  heart — "Come  to  Me  all  you  that  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  refresh  you ;  take  my  yoke  upon 
you  and  you  shall  find  rest  to  your  souls. ' '  At  these  words 
a  heavenly  longing  took  possession  of  Bernard 's  heart,  and 
thrilled  him  to  the  very  marrow  of  his  bones.  He  stopped 
at  the  church  door,  entered,  and,  prostrate  before  the 
altar,  poured  forth  his  soul  to  God.  This  event,  with 
all  its  circumstances,  Bernard  often  recalled,  and  used 
to  relate  it  to  the  monks  of  Clairvaux.  "I  am  not 


190  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

ashamed  to  confess/'  said  he,  "that  frequently,  and 
especially  at  the  beginning  of  my  conversion  .  .  .  etc." 
(p.  36.) 

In  the  year  1113,  Bernard,  now  twenty-three  years 
of  age,  entered  with  thirty  companions,  the  monastery 
of  Citeaux,  where  a  few  years  later  he  became  abbot. 
From  that  time  on  the  Order  of  Citeaux  began  to  flour- 
ish and  numerous  other  houses  came  into  existence.  One 
of  these,  the  monastery  of  Foigny,  in  the  diocese  of  Laon, 
was  apparently  the  place  where  the  two  Saints  first  met. 
"When  this  monastery  was  dedicated,  Norbert  was  pres- 
ent, and,  shortly  after  the  dedication,  we  find  Bernard 
in  the  company  of  Norbert  at  Laon,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  transfer  of  St.  Martin's  Abbey  to  the  Premonstra- 
tensians.  St.  Bernard  with  Drogo,  Simon  and  other 
friends  of  Norbert,  signed  the  solemn  charter.2  This 
meeting  took  place  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1124, 
and  was  the  beginning  of  a  life-long  friendship.3 

Though  their  respective  Orders  were  entirely  distinct 
and  separate,  the  Saints  were  ever  closely  united,  for 
the  life-aim  of  both  was  " Reform."  They  deplored  the 
morals  of  their  age,  everywhere  corrupted,  and  partic- 
ularly those  of  the  ministers  of  the  Church,  many  of 
whom  they  led  to  a  better  life.  Both  were  the  antag- 
onists of  the  able  and  brilliant  Peter  Abelard,  and  while 
Bernard  was  engaged  in  preaching  missions  to  the  sim- 
ple people  of  Languedoc,  Norbert  was  found  in  Belgium 
and  the  Low  Countries  engaged  in  the  very  same  work. 

2  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  157,  observes,  that  it  seems  beyond 
doubt  that  both  Bernard  and  Norbert  assisted  at  the  Council 
of  Soissons  in  1121,  and  that  consequently  their  friendship 
dates  from  that  time.  He  relies  on  the  Acta  Sanctorum. 

3Cfr.  Histoire  de  1'abbaye  de  Foigny,  p.  11. 


Their  Mutual  Esteem  and  Admiration          191 

Again,  the  schism  caused  by  the  antipope,  Anacletus, 
found  in  Bernard  as  well  as  in  Norbert,  its  most  stren- 
uous opponent,  and  as  Norbert  had  been  closely  criti- 
cized, St.  Bernard  was  also  menaced  by  a  storm  of  vio- 
lence, and  the  most  unjust  reproaches  pursued  him  even 
in  his  monastic  cell.  Bishops,  alarmed  at  the  power  of 
a  simple  monk,  denounced  him  at  Rome,  where  the 
whole  college  of  Cardinals  even  found  fault  with  Ber- 
nard. The  Pope  himself  alarmed  at  these  complaints, 
ordered  the  celebrated  Cardinal  Haimeric,  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Roman  Church,  to  remonstrate  with  St. 
Bernard.4 

The  mutual  esteem  and  admiration  of  the  two  Saints 
is  clearly  evidenced  in  many  of  St.  Bernard's  well- 
known  letters,  from  which  we  also  incidentally  learn  how 
nobly  Bernard  assisted  Norbert  in  the  propagation  of 
the  new  Order  of  Premontre.  Thus  we  read  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  Geoffrey,  Bishop  of  Chartres : 5 

"I  am  quite  ignorant  respecting  the  matter  of  which 
"you  inquire  of  me;  namely,  whether  the  Lord  Norbert 
' '  is  about  to  go  to  Jerusalem.  For  when  I  saw  him  lasit, 
"a  few  days  ago,  he  said  nothing  of  it  to  me,  though  I 
"was  honored  in  being  permitted  to  drink  in  words  from 
* '  his  mouth,  as  it  were  from  a  sweet-toned  flute. ' ' 

' '  High  praise  for  Norbert, ' '  says  Mabillon,  ' '  from  such 
a  man,  especially  since  Bernard  did  not  easily  yield  to 
any  kind  of  imaginativeness !"  It  is  certain  that  Bernard 
had  at  once  recognized  the  Saint  in  Norbert,  and  took 
counsel  of  him  on  many  occasions.  Thus  we  read  in  the 

*  Cfr.  "Life  and  Times  of  St.  Bernard,"  edited  by  Samuel  J. 
Eales.  Vol.  I,  p.  147. 

s  Ibidem.  Letter  56.  See  also  foot-note  on  this  page  wherein 
appear  the  above  quoted  words  of  Mabillon. 


192  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

same  letter:  "But  when  I  asked  him  what  he  thought 
"concerning  the  Antichrist,  he  declared  himself  quite 
"convinced  that  Antichrist  was  to  be  revealed  during  this 
"generation,  that  is  now  .  .  .  "6 

Norbert,  on  his  part,  also  found  in  Bernard  a  safe  coun- 
sellor and  guide,  and  it  was  through  this  mutual  friend- 
ship that  many  customs  of  the  Cistercians  were  intro- 
duced into  the  Premonstratensian  Order.  Thus  the  well- 
known  "Charter  of  Charity/7  which  in  thirty  articles, 
fixed  the  usages  of  the  Cistercian  Monks,  was  adopted 
by  Norbert  in  its  entirety.  In  fact,  every  observance 
of  monks  which  Norbert  found  to  be  compatible  with  the 
life  of  priests,  he  adopted  and  introduced  into  his  houses. 
No  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  friendship  between  the 
two  Saints  was  very  intimate,  and  that  we  see  them 
side  by  side,  continually  fighting  the  great  evils  of  the 
times.  Neither  can  it  cause  much  surprise  that  friends 
as  well  as  enemies  of  these  Saints  named  them  in  one 
breath. 

"We  observed  above  how  Abelard  referred  to  both  as 
the  two  apostles  who  were  doing  the  work  of  his  rivals, 
and  doing  it  effectively.  Rupert,  a  monk  of  Cluny, 
said  sarcastically  that  all  existing  religious  Orders 
had  to  make  room  for  the  rising  Cistercian  and  Premon- 
stratensian Orders.7  Again,  when  the  antipope,  Ana- 
cletus,  manifested  a  desire  to  enter  into  negotiations  with 

e  We  remarked  above  that  many  were  persuaded  that  the 
Antichrist  was  on  the  point  of  appearing.  They  were  led  to 
believe  this  by  the  iniquity  of  the  times  and  the  appearance 
of  many  of  the  signs  foretold  by  Christ.  VandenElsen  ob- 
serves, however,  that  Norbert  referred  to  the  coming  of  the 
antipope,  Anacletus,  as  the  advent  of  the  Antichrist. 

7  Rupertus  Lib.  IV,  in  Regulam  S.  Ben. 


Their  Relations  With  Count  Theobald  193 

the  German  Emperor,  Lothaire,  the  latter  sent,  in  con- 
cert with  the  Pope,  St.  Bernard  and  St.  Norbert  (then 
Archbishop  of  Magdeburg)  to  Anacletus.  "But,"  ob- 
serves the  biographer  of  St.  Bernard,  "the  two  ser- 
vants of  God  found  the  antipope  so  hardened  in  his 
pride  that  they  soon  gave  up  all  effort  of  reconcilia- 
tion."8 

Special  mention  must  be  made  of  their  friendly  rela- 
tions with  Count  Theobald,  of  whom  we  spoke  above  as 
the  first  member  of  Norbert 's  Third  Order.  Of  the  many 
letters  written  by  St.  Bernard,  we  find  several  addressed 
to  Count  Theobald.  Thus  one  time  he  wrote  to  him  about 
an  unfortunate  man,  named  Humbert,  who  had  been 
vanquished  in  a  duel,  in  consequence  of  which  he  was 
deprived  of  his  eyesight  and  property  by  the  order  of 
Count  Theobald.  Be  it  observed  that  just  at  this  time 
the  Count  was  doing  all  in  his  power  to  repress  entirely 
the  fighting  of  duels,  which  was  everywhere  else  toler- 
ated by  other  princes.  However,  in  this  particular  case 
the  Count  apparently  misjudged,  for  it  was  said  that 
Humbert  was  innocent.  So  the  latter  had  made  an  ap- 
peal to  St.  Bernard,  who  in  consequence  wrote  the  Count 
several  letters,  and  at  the  same  time  implored  the  as- 
sistance of  all  those  whom  he  knew  to  have  influence 
with  the  Count,  in  the  poor  man's  behalf.  How  greatly 
he  relied  on  Norbert  ?s  power,  is  shown  in  the  following 
words :  "I  entreat  you,  then,  by  the  mercy  of  God,  that 
"you  pursue  your  good  purpose,  and  not  permit  the 
"wicked  to  boast  that  the  poor  man  is  ruined;  rather 
"take  means  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise  you  have 
"made  to  Dom  Norbert  and  to  me,  that  you  would  re- 


St.  Bernard  by  M.  L'Abbe  Ratisbonne,  p.  197. 


194  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

"  store  the  patrimony  of  Humbert  to  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren."9 

How  highly  Bernard  thought  of  Norbert's  sanctity, 
appears  from  a  letter  written  to  Bruno,  Archbishop-elect 
of  Cologne :  "  And  yon' have  also  the  Lord  Norbert,  whom 
"you  may  conveniently  consult  in  person  on  all  such 
"subjects.  For  that  good  man  is  more  fitted  than  I  to 
"explain  the  mysterious  workings  of  Providence,  as  he 
"is  nearer  to  God  by  his  holiness."  10 

"Norbert,"  observes  Dr.  Winter,11  "was  very  closely 
united  to  'St.  Bernard.  The  letters  of  the  latter  give 
ample  testimony  of  the  esteem  he  had  for  Norbert.  And 
undoubtedly  we  should  be  able  to  show  Norbert's  high 
appreciation  of  St.  Bernard,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that 
his  writings  have  been  lost." 

In  the  "Life  and  Times  of  St.  Bernard,"  the  follow- 
ing reference  is  made  to  St.  Norbert,  by  the  author,  M. 
L'Abbe  Eatisbonne  (p.  221)  :  "In  this  same  year,  and 
"almost  at  the  same  time,  the  6th  of  June,  1134,  another 
"friend  of  St.  Bernard  expired,  in  the  full  vigor  of  his 
"age — his  faithful  fellow-laborer  in  Italy — the  vener- 
"able  Norbert,  founder  of  the  Premonstratensian  Order. 
"His  various  and  intimate  relations  with  the  Abbot  of 
"Clairvaux,  the  great  congregation  of  which  he  laid 
"the  first  stone,  and  lastly,  the  edification  which  he  af- 
forded to  his  age,  by  his  sanctity,  his  learning,  and 
"his  labors,  oblige  us  to  enter  into  some  details  in  this 
"place  concerning  this  great  man.  .  .  ."  Then  fol- 
lows the  life-story  of  our  Saint,  after  which  the  author 

»Cfr.  Letters  33-35-38. 

10  Ibidem.    Letter  VIII. 

nCfr.  "Die  Praemonstratenser,"  p.  288. 


The  Love  of  St.  Bernard  for  the  Norbertines      195 

continues,  speaking  of  Norbert 's  Order:  "This  useful 
1 '  institution,  closely  allied  to  that  of  Citeaux,  arose  with 
"almost  equal  rapidity.  Bernard  and  Norbert,  atten- 
1 '  tive  to  the  needs  of  their  time,  mutually  supported  each 
"other  in  their  common  efforts  to  supply  them.  Both, 
"united  in  the  pure  desire  of  good,  labored  in  the 
"various  Councils  at  which  they  assisted  for  the  re- 
"  establishment  of  religion.  They  had  recently  united 
"to  extinguish  the  schism  in  Italy,  and  they  had  both 
"resisted  the  pretensions  of  the  antipope.  .  .  .  The 
"death  of  Norbert,  whose  labors  in  Germany  and  Italy 
"had  so  perfectly  seconded  the  mission  of  the  Abbot 
"of  Clairvaux  .  .  .  grievously  affected  the  heart  of 
"St.  Bernard  .  .  .  etc/' 

After  our  Saint's  death,  however,  St.  Bernard  con- 
tinued to  evince  affection  for  Norbert 's  Institute  in  var- 
ious ways,  and  was  ever  solicitous  about  the  welfare  of 
the  Premonstratensian  Canons.  He  often  sent  letters  to 
the  different  abbots  giving  them  advice  and  assistance 
in  maintaining  religious  discipline,  and  even  in  finding 
new  recruits  for  the  Order.  He  kept  constantly  in  touch 
with  them,  and  eagerly  watched  the  development  of  Nor- 
bert's  great  undertaking.  An  illustration  of  this  we  find 
especially  in  one  of  Bernard's  letters  addressed  to  Nor- 
bert's  first  disciple,  Blessed  Hugh,  then  Abbot  of  Pre- 
montre.  Apparently  there  had  been  some  misunder- 
standing between  them,  and  the  gentle  answer  of  Ber- 
nard amply  shows  his  interest  in  the  Order. 

"I  have  read,"  writes  Bernard,  "what  you  have  heard 
"of  me,  and  I  fear,  for  you  write  bitter  things  against 
"me,  but  I  hope  with  more  severity  than  truth.  What 
"wrong  have  I  done.  Is  it  that  I  have  ever  loved 
"your  person,  been  kindly  disposed  to  your  Order,  and 


196  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

1 '  helped  whenever  I  could  ?  If  you  believe  not  my  words, 
"let  my  deeds  be  my  witness.  Indeed,  my  conscience 
"tells  me  that  I  ought  to  have  been  commended  by  you. 
"But  since  you  have  seen  fit  to  speak  and  write  against 
"me,  I  will  lend  power  to  my  words  from  the  testimony 
"of  my  actions.  It  goes,  indeed,  against  the  grain.  I 
"may  seem  to  be  boasting  of  my  good  deeds,  and  this  is 
"not  seemly ;  but  you  compel  me  to  act  as  a  fool.  When- 
"ever  have  you  or  yours  wanted  my  help  and  failed  to 
"receive  it?  In  the  very  first  place,  the  land  of  Pre- 
"montre,  in  which  you  are  living,  was  formerly  mine, 
"and  you  had  it  as  a  gift  from  me.12  For  our  brother 
"Wido13  (so  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  place  called 
"him)  had  given  it  to  me  through  the  bishop.  Next,  it 
"was  principally  through  my  efforts,  that  the  monks  of 
"Beaulieu  14  affiliated  themselves  with  you.  When  king 
"Baldwin  was  alive  he  gave  me  the  place  of  the  Holy 
* '  Samuel  at  Jerusalem,  and  at  the  same  time  a  thousand 
"crowns  with  which  to  build;  I  gave  you  both  the  site 
"and  the  money.  Many  know  how  hard  I  labored  that 

12  Cfr.  above  p.  71. 

is  This  Wido  is  referred  to  on  p.  66  as  Guy.  We  read  of  Wido, 
says  S.  Eales,  in  a  foot-note  to  this  letter,  in  the  history  of  the 
monastery  of  Vicoigne,  near  Valenciennes  (Spicil.  Vol.  XII,  p. 
534),  where  Wido  or  Guy,  "a  Breton  by  birth,  a  priest  by  office," 
is  said  to  have  lived  at  Premontre  at  the  time  that  Norbert 
went  there,  and  to  have  given  place  to  a  greater  than  he,  by 
retiring  to  Vicoigne,  where  he  '•aid  the  foundations  of  a  mon- 
astery which  he  put  under  the  care  of  Walter  of  St.  Martin  of 
Laon,  as  Abbot. 

i*  Beaulieu  was  a  house  of  Canons  Regular  in  the  diocese  of 
Troyes  and  was  ceded  to  the  Premonstratensians  in  the  year 
1140.  Bernard's  letter  (407)  was  written  to  Odo,  Abbot  of 
Beaulieu. 


St.  Bernard  Recommends  the  Norbertines       197 

"you  might  have  the  church  of  St.  Paul  at  Verdun;  and 
"you  enjoy  the  fruit  of  my  labor.  If  you  do  not  admit 
"this  fact  against  you,  my  letters  to  Pope  Innocent,  of 
"blessed  memory,  are  in  existence,  as  true  judges  and 
"living  witnesses  to  the  truth  of  what  I  say.  Your 
"brothers  of  Sept-Fontaines  hold  from  me  the  place 
"which  they  occupy,15  which  the  first  inhabitants  called 
' l  Francs- Vals. 

"For  which  of  these  facts  do  you  wish  to  leave  your 
"friends?  Are  you  not  returning  evil  for  good?  For 
"you  threaten  to  break  your  compact,16  to  sever  the 
"peace  that  there  is  between  us,  to  give  up  fellowship, 
"to  break  our  unity  .  .  .  "  17 

Although  the  above  quotation,  and  in  fact  the  whole 
long  letter  is  a  gentle  rebuke  to  Abbot  Hugh,  it  explains 
at  the  same  time  most  fully  how  great  Bernard's  inter- 
est was  in  the  welfare  of  the  Premonstratensians. 

We  shall  now  quote  from  another  letter  of  St.  Bernard, 
in  which  he  highly  appreciates  the  Premonstratensians. 
This  letter  was  written,  in  1142,  to  Milisendis,  Queen  of 
Jerusalem,  daughter  of  king  Baldwin,  and  wife  of 
Fulk.18 


is  Sept-Fontaines  was  in  the  diocese  of  Langres. 

16  Manrique  describes  this  agreement,  which  was  entered 
into,  in  A.  D.  1142,  between  the  Cistercians  and  Premonstraten- 
sians for  the  sake  of  peace,  as  fixing  two  leagues  between  their 
monasteries  and  one  between  their  granges  or  farms.  Hence 
Bernard  says,  a  little  further  in  the  letter,  that  the  house  of 
Basse-Font  was  outside  the  limits  agreed  on. 

i?  This  letter  was  written  in  the  year  1150  and  is  in  the 
collection  of  S.  Bales  No.  CCLIII  (253).  The  quotations  as  well 
as  the  foot-notes  are  taken  from  this  collection.  P.  735,  et  seq. 

is  Letter  CCCLV.   (355)  op.  cit. 


198  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

"You  see  how  greatly  I  presume  on  your  goodness, 
1 '  since  I  venture  to  recommend  others  also  to  you.  How- 
"ever,  it  would  be  as  unnecessary  as  presumptuous,  per- 
haps, for  me  to  say  much  in  commendation  of  these 
"brethren  of  Premontre,  for  they  so  commend  them- 
"  selves  by  their  own  merit  that  they  have  no  need  to 
"be  commended  by  another.  They  will  be  found,  if  I 
"mistake  not,  to  be  men  of  wisdom,  fervent  in  spirit, 
"patient  in  tribulation,  powerful  in  word  and  work. 
"They  have  put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God  and  have 
"girded  themselves  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which 
"is  the  "Word  of  God,  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but 
"against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places.  Receive 
"them  as  warlike  and  yet  peaceful;  gentle  towards  men, 
"warlike  towards  evil  spirits.  Eather,  I  should  say,  re- 
"ceive  them  as  Christ  Himself,  who  is  the  cause  of  their 
' '  pilgrimage. ' ' 

So  closely  united  did  these  two  great  Orders  of  the 
twelfth  century  work  side  by  side,  that  Lawrence  of 
Liege  in  his  "Lives  of  the  Bishops  of  Verdun"  likens  the 
Orders  of  Citeaux  and  of  Premontre,  to  the  two  Cheru- 
bim which  shadowed  the  Mercy  Seat.  He  calls  them  the 
two  famous  Orders  which  by  their  zeal  for  souls  have 
protected  the  Church  in  those  evil  days,  and  whose  great 
influence  can  never  be  overestimated.19 

19  Spicil.  V.  XII,  p.  325. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  WONDER-WORKER. 

De  grege  dum  Saevus  tenerurn  Lupus  abstulit  agnum, 
Raptor  cum  praeda,  Te  revocante,  redit. 

Deseases  fled  thy  touch;  the  famished  came 
And  all  were  soothed  by  thee  in  Jesus'  name. 
More  wondrous  still,  a  wolf  thou  didst  compel 
To  guard  the  trembling  sheep.     .     .    . 

Having  completed  the  great  work  of  establishing  the 
new  foundations,  Norbert  again  returned  to  Premontre. 
It  now  pleased  Divine  Providence  to  confirm  the  work 
of  the  Saint  by  many  miracles.  Miracles  indicate  man's 
restoration  to  his  primitive  state  and  remind  us  of  the 
power  which  he  received  in  the  very  beginning  over  na- 
ture, which  he  was  called  upon  to  command,  in  the  name 
of  the  Creator.  On  the  testimony  of  the  Apostle,  this 
power  may  undoubtedly  be  regained  by  man:  ''For 
"  every  nature  of  beasts,  and  of  birds,  and  of  serpents, 
"and  of  the  rest,  is  tamed,  and  has  been  tamed  by  the 
"nature  of  man."  (St.  James'  Epist.  III.-7.)  When 
divine  love  is  reborn  in  man's  soul,  he  finds  in  that  love 
all  knowledge,  all  virtue,  all  power.  The  kingly  scepter 
is,  as  it  were,  restored  to  him.  Such  was  St.  Norbert; 
the  world  obeyed  him,  and  the  spirits  of  this  world 
trembled  at  his  voice ;  the  fallen  angels  themselves  bore 
witness  to  his  sanctity  and  greatly  feared  him.  Con- 
temporary writers  relate  numerous  incidents  which  at- 
test this  supreme  authority.  We  cannot  here  relate  them 
all,  but  will  limit  ourselves  to  a  few.  While  they  may, 

199 


200  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

perhaps,  provoke  a  smile  from  the  incredulous,  they 
will  at  the  same  time  manifest  to  many  others  Norbert 's 
nearness  to  God. 

We  have  seen  how  Satan  endeavored  from  the  very 
beginning  to  destroy  the  work  which  Norbert  had  so 
happily  begun,  and  now  he  continued  his  attacks  upon 
Premontre,  striving  to  frighten  and  discourage  the  re- 
ligious. Thus  we  read  that  their  sleep  was  almost 
nightly  disturbed  by  violent  shaking  of  the  walls  of  the 
monastery  or  by  forms  of  the  most  hideous  creatures. 

One  night  Norbert  was  absorbed  in  prayer  in  the  little 
chapel  of  St.  John,  which  chapel  the  reader  no  doubt  re- 
members. A  new  temple  had  long  since  been  erected, 
but  the  Saint  experienced  greater  devotion  in  the  poor 
little  chapel,  on  account  of  the  great  things  which  had 
taken  place  within  its  walls.  The  night  was  far  ad- 
vanced when  Norbert  arose  from  prayer  in  order  to  give 
a  short  rest  to  his  fatigued  body.  Suddenly  he  saw  be- 
fore him  an  ugly  bear,  his  claws  outstretched  and  his 
mouth  wide  open  as  if  on  the  point  of  devouring  him. 
For  a  moment  the  Saint  seemed  overcome  by  fright.  He 
recalled  the  fact  that  he  had  locked  the  door  of  the 
chapel  and  had  not  heard  the  least  noise.  Realizing 
that  it  must  be  Satan,  he  offered  a  short  but  fervent 
prayer  and  made  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  saying:  "What 
do  you  want,  you  cruel  beast  ?  Depart  from  here,  I  com- 
mand you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.  You  know  that 
you  can  do  no  harm  without  the  permission  of  God,  and 
then  to  those  only  who,  by  their  sins,  are  in  your  power. " 
At  these  words  of  faith  and  authority  the  devil  at  once 
disappeared.1 

i  Vita  B,  Ch.  XLI. 


Nor'bert's  Power  over  Dumb  Animals  201 

Immanem  Daemon  fingit  dwm  Callidus  ursum. 
Cogitur  imbellem  mox  celerare  fugam. 

Norbert  had  power  also  over  dumb  animals,  a  phe- 
nomenon which  we  observe  in  the  lives  of  so  many  saints. 
It  is  related  that  a  young  shepherd  who  used  to  watch 
the  flock  of  the  monastery,  asked  one  day  what  he  should 
do  in  case  a  wolf  came  to  attack  his  sheep,  since  he  had 
no  dog.  He  was  told  simply  to  defend  the  sheep  in  the 
name  of  Norbert.  The  boy  remembered  this  advice,  and 
when  some  time  later  a  wolf  came  and  carried  off  one 
of  the  sheep,  the  boy  shouted  after  him:  ' 'Thief!  this 
"is  the  flock  of  Master  Norbert.  I  command  you  in  his 
"name  to  give  up  your  prey."  And  in  effect  the  wolf 
let  loose  the  captive  sheep.  (Vita  B.  Ch.  XXXIX.) 

The  valley  of  Premontre  resembled  in  very  truth  the 
earthly  Paradise,  wherein  these  fervent  religious  led  in- 
nocent lives,  and  apparently  they  also  had  regained  com- 
mand even  over  dumb  animals.  Thus  one  day  a  young 
Brother  was  sent  out  to  find  the  cattle  that  belonged  to  the 
monastery.  As  he  was  leaving  the  house,  behold!  a  wolf 
appeared,  and  stepping  to  his  side,  not  only  accompanied 
the  Brother,  but  was  even  of  service  to  him  in  bringing 
the  cattle  together.  Having  returned  to  the  monastery, 
and  the  cattle  being  safe  in  the  stable,  the  Brother  locked 
the  doors  and  went  away.  The  wolf  did  not  seem  greatly 
pleased  with  these  proceedings.  When  the  Brother  left, 
the  wolf  began  making  a  great  noise,  scratching  all  the 
while  the  stable-door.  St.  Norbert  heard  the  noise  and 
said  to  one  of  the  Brothers :  ' '  Why  do  you  not  open  the 
door  for  this  traveler  who  asks  our  hospitality?"  The 
Brother  answered:  "Father  Norbert,  this  is  no  trav- 
eler but  a  wolf  who  wants  to  go  into  the  stable."  The 
Saint  replied:  "There  must  be  some  reason  for  this; 


202  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

tell  me  what  happened  to-day  with  the  cattle."  The 
young  religious  who  had  brought  the  cattle  in  was  called 
to  appear  before  Norbert  and  made  to  tell  his  experi- 
ence. "When  he  had  told  all,  the  Saint  said :  ' '  See,  that 
I  am  right.  This  wolf  wants  his  wages.  Give  him  some- 
thing to  eat."  And,  adds  the  early  biographer,  after 
this  event,  the  same  wolf  was  often  seen  accompanying 
the  young  Brother.2 

Until  the  time  of  the  seventeenth  century,  there  was 
a  tree  kept  in  great  veneration  by  the  people,  and  called 
1 '  The  Tree  of  St.  Norbert. ' '  According  to  popular  tradi- 
tion, the  Saint  himself  had  planted  this  tree.  During  five 
hundred  years  its  foliage  was  always  green  summer  and 
winter.3 

There  is  also  found  along  the  road  between  Anisy  and 
Premontre  a  spring  of  clear  water,  called  until  this  day 
"The  Well  of  St.  Norbert."  A  supernatural  power  is 
still  attributed  to  the  water  of  this  well,  by  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  surrounding  country.4 

However  strange  and  miraculous  the  above  occur- 
rences seem  to  be,  they  are  not  more  marvelous  than  the 
wonderful  growth  of  the  Order  at  this  time.  Premontre, 
at  the  time  of  its  foundation,  may  truly  be  compared  to 
the  grain,  spoken  of  in  the  Gospel.  Nothing,  in  fact, 
could  have  been  weaker,  humbler,  more  abject  than  this 
heavenly  seed  when  it  was  first  put  into  the  field  of  the 
Church,  but  the  principle  of  life  was  within  it.  Nor- 

2  Vita  B,  Ch.  XXXIX.  Cfr.,  also  P.  Alph.  de  Liguori.  Pp. 
185-191. 

s  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  283,  who  further  quotes  Vander- 
Sterre  "Vita,"  p.  408.  DeWhagenaere,  p.  33.  De  arbore  a  S.  P. 
Norberto  plantata. 

4  Cfr.    VanderSterre,  1.  ,c.    Notes  of  de  Hertoghe,  p.  405. 


Norlert  Fulfills  His  Promise  203 

bert's  preaching  and  the  exemplary  lives  of  himself  and 
his  followers  exercised  an  irresistible  influence.  Priests 
as  well  as  illustrious  laymen  attached  themselves  to  Nor- 
bert  and  flocked  to  his  foundations.  And  well  may  we 
apply  to  Norbert  's  Order  the  words  written  by  a  biogra- 
pher of  St.  Bernard:  "How  many  learned  men,  how 
many  orators,  how  many  nobles  and  great  ones  of  the 
earth,  how  many  philosophers  have  passed  from  the 
schools  or  the  academies  of  the  world  to  the  valley  of 
Premontre,  to  give  themselves  up  to  the  meditation  of 
heavenly  things  and  the  practice  of  a  divine  morality." 

Premontre  had  become  at  this  time  a  "  training  sta- 
tion," we  might  say,  where  hundreds  came  to  enlist  in 
God's  army.  Here  they  were  practiced  in  religious  dis- 
cipline, and  from  here  they  were  also  sent  out  to  differ- 
ent posts,  the  new  foundations.  Of  the  numerous  foun- 
dations made  at  this  time  we  shall  speak  presently,  but 
first  we  shall  accompany  Norbert  on  a  journey  to  Rat- 
isbon. 

The  Saint's  stay  at  Premontre  was  not  to  be  of  long 
duration,  for  he  soon  found  himself  obliged  to  leave  his 
dear  valley  in  order  to  fulfill  his  promise  to  Theobald, 
Count  of  Champagne.  The  Count,  as  the  reader  remem- 
bers, never  did  anything  of  importance  without  the  ad- 
vice and  direction  of  Norbert,  and  was  now  reminding 
him  of  his  promise  to  find  him  a  worthy  spouse.  When 
Theobald  had  offered  himself  to  the  Order,  and  Nor- 
bert had  refused  to  accept  him,  for  he  knew  that  it  was 
not  the  will  of  God  that  the  Count  should  be  received 
into  the  Order,  he  said  that  he  would  never  marry  any- 
one except  the  person  designated  by  Norbert.  (See 
above,  p.  156.)  Thus  the  object  of  Norbert 's  present 
journey  was  to  negotiate  for  a  marriage  between  Theo- 


204  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

bald  and  Mathilda,  daughter  of  the  Marquess  of  Cray- 
burg  and  niece  to  the  Bishop  of  Ratisbon.5 

Norbert  left  Premontre  towards  the  end  of  the  year 
1125  in  the  company  of  one  of  his  disciples  with  whom  he 
usually  traveled,  Blessed  Evermode.  He  was  accom- 
panied also  by  two  deputies  of  Count  Theobald.  "  Never- 
theless, "  says  Hugo,  "his  equipage  had  nothing  of  the 
worldly  magnificence  of  an  ambassador,  for  his  humility 
caused  him  to  observe  the  strictest  rules  of  holy  poverty. 
Clothed  in  an  old  white  cassock,  over  which  was  thrown 
a  large  cloak,  and  riding  on  a  donkey,  he  went  through 
Champagne,  Lorraine,  Alsace  and  Wurtemberg  in  such 
a  state  of  spiritual  recollection  that  nothing  distracted 
him.  He  spent  his  time  in  prayer,  meditation  and  pious 
conversation  with  his  companions. ' '  6 

Arrived  in  Ratisbon,  he  at  once  went  to  the  Bishop's 
palace.  The  Bishop  at  that  time  was  Hartwic,  whom 
Norbert  had  learned  to  know  at  the  court  of  Henry  V. 
It  happened  that  on  the  day  of  Norbert 's  arrival  at  the 
Bishop's  house,  there  wras  with  the  Bishop  his  brother, 
the  powerful  Count  Engelbert,  who  had  several  grown- 
up unmarried  daughters.  One  of  these  was  Mathilda, 
whom  the  Saint  had  selected  for  the  Count  of  Cham- 
pagne. "When  the  Saint  had  explained  the  object  of  his 
journey,  both  the  Bishop  and  his  brother  most  willingly 
gave  their  approval  to  the  projected  union,  which  would 

s  According  to  d'Arblois  II,  p.  263,  Theobald  was  married  in 
the  year  1123,  because  his  wife's  name  is  mentioned  in  a  char- 
ter of  that  year.  However,  there  are  good  reasons  to  consider 
this  date  incorrect  as  the  Charter  is  but  a  third  copy  and 
d'Arblois  observes:  "On  est  souvent  en  droit  de  se  mefier  de 
"la  date  des  diplomes  dont  on  n'a  pas  vu  les  originaux." 

e  Cfr.  Hugo,  "La  Vie  de  saint  Norbert."    Liv.  Ill,  p.  181. 


Norbert  Preaches  in  Ratisbon  205 

be  as  glorious  to  Mathilda  as  it  was  agreeable  to  Theo- 
bald. So  Norbert  dismissed  the  two  deputies  who  had 
accompanied  him  and  sent  them  back  to  Champagne  to 
inform  the  Count  of  the  result  of  his  mission.7 

He  himself  remained  at  Ratisbon,  and  for  some  time 
was  the  guest  of  the  Bishop.  Naturally,  a  soul  so  in- 
flamed with  zeal  for  missionary  work  as  was  the  soul  of 
Norbert,  could  not  remain  idle  in  a  diocese  where  the 
spiritual  wants  were  so  great  as  were  those  of  Ratisbon. 
Consequently,  full  of  the  spirit  of  God  and  of  love  for  his 
neighbor,  Norbert  gladly  acceded  to  the  wishes  of  the 
Bishop,  and  began  preaching  in  the  neighboring  towns 
and  villages.  The  good  results  of  his  missionary  work 
were  at  once  apparent.  He  succeeded  in  bringing  back 
a  large  number  of  sinners  to  the  performance  of  their 
Christian  duties,  restored,  as  was  his  wont,  peace  be- 
tween enemies,  and  in  a  very  short  time  caused  a  gen- 
uine revival  of  the  Catholic  faith  and  its  practices  in 
that  neighborhood.  A  great  lord  by  the  name  of  Albert, 
Count  of  Pogen,  was  so  deeply  touched  by  Norbert 's 
preaching,  and  especially  by  his  edifying  life,  that  he 
not  only  resolved  to  change  his  course  of  life  but  even 
changed  his  castle  of  Vindeburg  into  an  abbey  of  Nor- 
bert 's  Order,  which  abbey  existed  until  the  middle  of 
the  fifteenth  century.8 

From  the  diocese  of  Ratisbon  Norbert  went  over  to 
the  diocese  of  Augsburg,  where  among  a  large  number 

T  Cfr.  Rosenmund.  "Les  plus  anciennes  biographies  de  saint 
Norbert."  Also  "L'Histoire  des  Comtes  de  Champagne,"  par 
M.  Arbois  de  Jubainville  loc.  cit. 

s  According  to  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  306,  this  abbey  at  one  time 
possessed  no  less  than  three  hundred  manuscripts  of  great 
value,  but  at  present  these  are  nowhere  to  be  found. 


206  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

of  conversions,  the  most  notable  one  was  that  of  Verner, 
Count  of  Swabeck.  To  show  his  great  esteem  for  the 
man  of  God,  this  count  founded  the  abbey  of  Ursperg  in 
Suabia.  This  abbey  became  well  known,  especially  on 
account  of  its  ninth  abbot,  Conrad  of  Liechtenau,  who 
wrote  the  " Lives  of  the  Saints,"  in  twelve  volumes, 
and  also  the  ' '  Chronicles  of  Ursperg. ' ' 9 

It  was  also  at  this  time,9a  that  two  noblemen  from 
Spain,  who  had  heard  of  the  Saint  and  met  him,  now 
came  to  Premontre  and  joined  the  Order.  When  these 
two  disciples  returned  to  Spain,  fully  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  Norbert  and  his  Institute,  they  there  began 
propagating  the  Premonstratensian  Order.  Seventy 
years  later,  St.  Dominic,  the  Founder  of  the  Friar 
Preachers,  will  live  in  one  of  these  foundations  and 
freely  borrow  from  the  Premonstratensians  whatever  he 
finds  suitable  for  his  own  Order,  i.  e.,  Rule,  Habit,  and 
to  a  great  extent  also  the  spirit  of  Norbert 's  followers. 
We  therefore  read  in  the  Life  of  St.  Dominic:  "If  we 
compare  the  plan  of  St.  Dominic  with  that  of  St.  Nor- 
bert, who  had  preceded  the  former  by  nearly  a  century, 
we  shall  find  a  very  striking  similarity  between  them. ' ' 10 

Norbert  finally  left  Ratisbon  about  the  middle  of  Jan- 
uary, 1126,  without  having  fully  attained  his  object,  that 
of  seeing  Count  Theobald  married.  Circumstances  pre- 
vented the  immediate  celebration,  as  we  shall  see  in  the 
following  chapter.  The  Saint  meanwhile  will  make  a 
journey  to  the  Holy  City.  However,  before  accompany- 

9  Ibidem.     The  "Lives  of  the  Saints,"  written  by  Conrad, 
were  consumed  by  fire,  and  his  Chronicles  were  altered  during 
the  Protestant  Reformation.   Cfr.  Hugo  Ann.  T.  II.  Ursperga. 

9a  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  173. 

10  Cfr.  "History  of  St.-  Dominic,"  by  Aug.  Drane,  p.  163. 


The  Love  of  Norbert  for  the  Poor  207 

ing  Norbert  on  this  journey  to  Rome,  we  must  here  espe- 
cially notice  his  great  love  for  the  poor,  which  at  this 
time  he  so  constantly  manifested. 

A  long  drought,  followed  by  a  terrible  winter,  (1125- 
26)  was  causing  untold  suffering  among  the  poorer 
classes,  throughout  the  provinces,  and  St.  Bernard  as 
well  as  St.  Norbert,  at  this  particular  time  especially,  did 
all  in  their  power  to  relieve  the  sufferers.  Both  con- 
sidered the  wealth  of  the  churches  to  be  truly  the  patri- 
mony of  the  poor,  and  so  they  helped  them  with  a  lavish 
hand  in  their  hour  of  need.  "We  read  of  St.  Bernard 
that  he  had  adopted  as  many  as  two  thousand  poor  men, 
whom  he  marked  with  a  particular  sign,  (accepit  sub 
signaculo)  pledging  himself  to  support  them  as  long  as 
the  famine  lasted.11  Of  Hugh  of  Grenoble  we  read  that 
he  sold  the  precious  vases  of  his  church  in  order  to  re- 
lieve the  suffering.  Neither  did  the  rising  Premonstra- 
tensian  Order  fail  in  its  mission  in  these  dreadful  days. 
Norbert  himself  gave  the  example  by  begging  bread  for 
his  beloved  poor,  and  in  his  sermons  he  urged  the  great 
precept  of  charity,  while  his  disciples  in  the  different 
abbeys,  imbued  with  Norbert 's  spirit,  gave  away  what- 
ever they  had.  We  read,  for  instance,  that  the  brethren 
at  Cappenberg  were  actually  suffering  want  in  conse- 
quence of  their  liberality  towards  the  poor.  At  Pre- 
montre  the  same  condition  prevailed,  and  the  Saint  re- 
joiced exceedingly  on  finding  this  true  spirit  of  self- 
denial  among  his  brethren. 

"Such  was  the  noble  use,"  observes  the  biographer  of 
St.  Bernard,  "made  of  those  riches  which  the  frugality 
of  the  religious  and  the  piety  of  the  faithful  caused  to 

11  Neander  "Histoire  de  saint  Bernard,"  p.  14. 


208  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

abound  in  monasteries.  Religion,  which,  makes  itself  all 
things  to  all  men,  administered  the  public  funds  during 
the  minority  of  nations ;  she  gave  back  as  interest  what 
she  secured  as  capital;  she  received  the  superfluity  of 
the  rich  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  the  poor ;  and,  thanks  to 
the  monastic  institutions,  the  evil  of  mendicity  was 
never,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  what  it  has  become  in  our 
times."12 

The  famine  passed,  charity  for  the  poor  of  the  differ- 
ent abbeys  continued  to  such  an  extent,  that  Norbert, 
charitable  as  he  was,  found  himself  obliged  to  regulate 
the  zeal  of  the  brethren.  For  this  reason  he  prescribed 
the  following  rules,  which  were  binding  at  all  times  on 
all  the  brethren  of  each  and  every  abbey.  A  copy  of 
them  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Public  Library  at  Laon: 

"In  the  name  of  the  blessed  and  undivided  Trinity. 
"Amen.  Of  all  that  the  brethren  possess  or  acquire, 
"one-tenth  part  is  to  be  given  to  the  poor;  it  is  God 'a 
"tenth.  If  the  income  of  the  house  amounts  to  ten  sil- 
"ver  solidi,  eighteen  poor  people  are  to  be  clothed  of 
' '  the  one-tenth :  eight  during  the  winter,  ten  during  the 
* '  summer,  one  on  each  great  feast  day.  Thus  during  the 
"winter,  one  shall  be  clothed  on  the  feast  of  All  Saints; 
* '  one  on  Christmas ;  one  on  the  day  of  the  Circumcision ; 
"one  on  Epiphany;  one  on  the  feast  of  the  Purification 
' '  of  the  Blessed  Virgin ;  one  on  the  day  of  the  Annuncia- 
"tion;  one  on  Holy  Saturday  and  one  on  Easter.  They 
"shall  receive  new  pieces  of  clothing,  namely,  a  shirt, 
"breeches,  stockings,  socks,  shoes,  a  tunic,  and  a  cloak 
"with  a  cape,  or  with  furs.  The  other  ten  poor  shall  be 
"clothed  in  summer;  one  on  the  day  of  the  Ascension; 


12  AbbS  Ratisbonne,  o.  c.,  p.  111. 


The  Norbertine  Charter  of  Charity  209 

"seven  during  the  seven  days  of  the  week  after  Pentecost ; 
''one  on  the  feast  of  the  Apostles  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
"and  the  tenth  on  the  day  of  the  Assumption  of  the 
"Blessed  Virgin.  As  clothing  they  shall  receive  a  cape, 
"a  shirt,  breeches,  socks  and  shoes.  From  the  day  that 
"he  receives  his  clothing,  the  poor  man  must,  if  he  does 
"desire,  be  kept  in  the  'Xenodochium'  for  eight  days 
"and  be  given  his  meals.  If  after  this  distribution  has 
"been  made,  something  remains  of  the  ' Tenth'  of  God, 
"this  money  will  be  used  for  strangers  and  guests.  On 
"Holy  Thursday  every  priest  and  deacon,  after  washing 
"the  feet  of  the  poor,  will  give  them  for  the  sake  of 
"charity  and  with  the  consent  of  the  superior,  one  piece 
"of  his  own  clothing,  as  his  cape,  or  his  fur,  or  his  tunic. 
"After  this  charity  and  the  meal  which  will  follow,  the 
"poor  will  not  remain  for  seven  days,  but  shall  leave 
"our  monastery  in  peace/' 13 

As  is  quite  clear  from  the  above  remarkable  ordi- 
nance, St.  Norbert  considered  the  poor  as  much  his  chil- 
dren as  his  disciples,  and  as  far  as  possible,  wanted  them 
to  be  on  a  footing  of  equality.  Norbert 's  love  for  the 
poor  is  further  proved  by  the  fact  that  many  a  time, 
before  he  was  able  to  build  a  suitable  place  for  the  breth- 
ren in  a  new  foundation,  he  insisted  on  having  a  "Xeno- 
dochium,"  where  his  poor  and  sick  could  be  properly 
cared  for.  Listen  to  the  following  maxims  which  Nor- 
bert never  tired  repeating  to  his  disciples: 

[ '  To  harbor  poor  people,  and  to  share  what  we  possess 
"with  them,  is  the  source  of  abundant  plenty." 

13  MSS.  in  the  Library  of  Laon.  "Res  Praemonstratenses." 
T.  I.  Matricula  Ord.,  p.  182.  Eleemosynae  Norbertinae,  ex 
vetustissimo  Eccl.  Praem.  cartulario.,  p.  III.  No.  108.  In 
nomine  Sanctae,  etc.  Cfr.  Le  Paige,  p.  394. 


210  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

"He  who  of  his  own  free  will  has  become  poor  for 
1 '  God 's  sake,  ought  never  to  complain  when  he  is  treated 
"and  clad  like  the  poor." 

"Having  dwelt  at  Court  and  in  the  midst  of  wealth, 
"I  have  learned  by  experience  that  there  the  heart  is 
"never  satisfied,  but  that  when  far  away  from  these,  the 
"heart  is  always  at  rest/' 

"Kiches  pass  away,  but  holy  poverty  is  a  lasting  good 
"and  a  token  of  a  happy  eternity. " 

It  was  in  this  manner  that  Norbert  by  word  and  ex- 
ample enkindled  in  the  hearts  of  his  disciples  so  great 
a  love  for  the  poor  that  their  generosity,  many  a  time, 
exceeded  their  means.  "We  read  of  the  abbey  of  Cappen- 
berg,  that  one  day  the  brethren  had  absolutely  no  food 
in  the  house  when  the  hour  came  for  dinner.  The  Saint, 
who  was  there  at  the  time,  was  notified  of  the  fact,  but 
undisturbed,  he  went  to  the  refectory  with  the  brethren 
and  said  the  prayers  as  usual.  When  the  brethren  were 
seated,  neighbors  came,  seemingly  by  chance,  but  rather 
led  by  Divine  Providence,  and  brought  food  in  abun- 
dance. "And,"  adds  the  biographer,  "from  that  day  for- 
ward the  abbey  was  never  in  want,  neither  for  the  breth- 
ren nor  for  the  poor."  14 

Truly,  it  is  only  the  living  faith  of  the  saints  and 
their  childlike  confidence  in  God's  Providence  that  could 
inspire  them  with  this  noble  spirit  of  self-denial.  To 
share  with  the  poor,  not  of  one 's  abundance,  but  of  one  ?s 
necessities,  and  to  do  so  constantly  for  higher  motives — 
here  is  the  real  virtue  of  charity.  And  according  to  the 
words  of  the  Savior:  "Whatsoever  you  have  done  to 
the  least  of  My  brethren,  you  have  done  to  Me,"  great 
will  be  the  reward  of  those  who  practice  it. 

i*  Vita  B,  Appendix  Cappenb.  c.  II. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HIS  SECOND  JOURNEY  TO   ROME. 

Herbipoli  gemino  Matronae  lumine  cassae, 
Afflatis  tenebras  jussit  abire  genis. 

On  Easter  Sunday,  at  Wurzburg,  Norbert  gave  sight  to  a 
blind  woman  by  breathing  on  her  eyes. 

(Antiphon  of  the  Office.) 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  January,  in  the  year  1126, 
when  Norbert,  in  the  company  of  three  of  his  brethren, 
set  out  from  Ratisbon  for  the  Eternal  City.  The  object  of 
his  journey  was  to  obtain  the  Pope's  approval  of  his 
Order,  for  although  it  had  received  the  papal  approba- 
tion through  the  Legates  at  Noyon,  there  was  still  per- 
sistent opposition  to  him  and  his  Institute.  The  more  the 
Order  grew  the  more  marked  became  the  opposition,  and 
now  learned  and  powerful  men  had  actually  gone  to 
Rome  to  influence  the  Pontiff  against  the  Order.1  The 
Saint,  therefore,  had  determined  to  see  and  speak  with, 
the  Holy  Father  personally,  and  to  obtain  His  approba- 
tion, also  his  encouragement,  such  as  he  had  received 
from  his  two  illustrious  predecessors,  Calixtus  and  Ge- 
lasius.  The  present  occupant  of  the  St.  Peter's  Chair 
was  Honorius  II,  who  had  been  elected  on  Dec.  21,  1124. 

According  to  VandenElsen,  St.  Norbert  was  also  ac- 
companied on  this  journey  by  the  celebrated  Augustin- 
ian  Abbot,  Gerhoch  of  Reichersberg,  who  occupied  an  im- 

i  Cfr.  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  180. 

211 


212  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

portant  position  in  the  German  Church  of  the  twelfth 
century.2 

Winter  was  nearing  its  close  when  the  Saint  and  his 
companions  at  last  stood  beneath  the  walls  of  the  Eternal 
City.  What  were  the  feelings  which  must  have  animated 
Norbert  's  soul,  when,  on  approaching  Rome,  his  thoughts 
reverted  to  his  former  visit,  fifteen  years  before !  Then 
he  was  the  vain  young  man,  the  proud  courtier,  and  be- 
longed to  the  household  of  one  who  had  made  the  Pope 
a  prisoner ;  now  he  is  the  penitent — the  missionary — the 
spiritual  father  of  a  household  of  hundreds  and  hundreds 
of  children  entirely  devoted  to  the  cause  of  God 's  Repre- 
sentative. 

Pope  Honorius  was  a  great  patron  of  learning  and  vir- 
tue. He  had  listened  to  the  critics  of  Norbert,  but  he 
had  heard  such  praise  of  him  and  his  Order,  that  he  re- 
ceived the  Saint  with  all  possible  marks  of  respect  and 
veneration.  In  fact  the  two  earliest  biographers  of  the 
Saint  point  with  legitimate  pride  to  the  great  honor  and 
marks  of  esteem  which  the  Holy  Father  bestowed  upon 
the  man  * '  who  had  already  done  so  much  for  the  welfare 
of  the  Church,  and  to  whom  the  future  would  point  as  a 
savior."3  The  Holy  Father  at  once  recognized  Nor- 
bert 's  sincere  humility,  admired  his  wisdom  and  sanctity 
of  life,  and  saw  in  him  the  true  reformer.  In  conse- 

2  Ibidem,  p.  182.    A  description  of  the  character  and  work  of 
this  celebrated  Abbot  may  be  found  in  the  Appendix  to  the 
Letters  of  St.  Bernard,  edited  by  S.  Eales,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  194.    In 
the  same  place  is  also  found  the  letter  he  wrote  to  St.  Bernard, 
and  his  Treatise  respecting  Simoniacs.   VandenElsen  further 
says  that  Gerhoch  had  been  cited  to  Rome  on  account  of  indis- 
creet zeal. 

3  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  310. 


Pope  Honorius  Confirms  the  Order  213 

quence  he  most  willingly  gave  Norbert  his  blessing  and 
encouragement,  and  the  fullest  confirmation  of  his  Order. 

Honorius  gave  the  Saint  three  different  ' '  Bulls. ' '  The 
first,  dated  February  16,  1126,  confirms  the  foundation 
of  different  abbeys.  Another  received  by  Norbert  on  the 
next  day,  refers  to  the  Motherhouse  of  Premontre  alone. 
Both  these  "Bulls"  were  delivered  to  Norbert  by  Car- 
dinal Haimeric,  the  great  friend  of  St.  Bernard.  The 
third  is  dated  February  27,  1126,  and  was  also  given  at 
the  Lateran.  This  third  concerns  the  house  of  Cappen- 
berg  in  particular,  which  it  places  under  the  special  pro- 
tection of  the  Holy  See.  The  most  important  of  the 
three  is  the  first,  by  which  the  different  foundations  are 
confirmed  in  general.  It  reads  as  follows : 

"Honorius,  bishop,  servant  of  servants  of  God.  To 
"our  beloved  sons,  Norbert,  our  brother  in  Christ,  and 
"the  canons  of  the  church  of  St.  Mary  of  Premontre, 
"and  to  their  successors  having  made  profession  of  the 
"religious  life,  forever.  Those  who  follow  in  the  foot- 
"  steps  of  the  Apostles,  renounce  the  pomp  of  the  world 
"and  their  possessions,  and  apply  themselves  with  all 
"their  might  to  the  service  of  God,  if  they  will  have 
"persevered  in  the  good  work  they  have  begun,  they 
"will  receive,  on  the  day  of  Judgment,  the  robe  of  im- 
"  mortality  and  eternal  glory. 

"Therefore,  since  you  by  the  inspiration  of  divine 
"grace  have  determined  to  live  religiously  and  to  lead 
"a  canonical  life  according  to  the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine, 
"We  confirm  your  Institute  by  the  authority  of  the 
"Apostolic  See,  and  We  exhort  you  to  be  firm  and  to 
"persevere  with  a  view  of  the  remission  of  your  sins. 

"We  decree  that  it  is  forbidden  to  any  one  to  change 
"the  order  established  according  to  the  Rule  of  St. 


214  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

"  Augustine  in  your  churches,  where  the  brethren  live 
"who  have  made  profession  of  the  canonical  life;  that 
"no  bishop  dare,  in  the  future,  drive  away  the  breth- 
"ren  of  this  religious,  order  from  your  churches;  that 
"no  brother  having  promised  to  lead  the  canonical  life 
"dare  leave  your  churches  or  monasteries  without  the 
"consent  of  the  community.  If  he  does  leave,  no  bishop 
"nor  abbot  nor  monk  may  receive  him  unless  he  presents 
"letters  from  the  community. 

"We  further  hereby  also  confirm  the  goods  and  pos- 
' t  sessions  which  you  hold  justly  and  legitimately,  among 
"which  we  have  thought  well  to  mention  the  following 
"by  name:  The  church  of  St.  Martin  at  Laon,  in  the 
"diocese  of  Laon;  the  church  of  St.  Mary  at  Floreffe,  in 
"the  diocese  of  Liege;  the  church  of  St.  Mary  and  the 
"Holy  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul  at  Cappenberg,  in  the 
' l  diocese  of  Miinster ;  the  church  of  St.  Mary  at  Varlar, 
"in  the  same  diocese;  the  church  of  St.  Annal,  in  the 
"diocese  of  Metz;4  the  church  of  St.  Michael  at  Ant- 
"werp,  in  the  diocese  of  Cambray;  the  valley  of  Pre- 
"montre  from  the  place  called  Halierpre  to  the  valley 
"of  Rohard,  with  the  three  adjacent  valleys,  and  from 
"the  river  going  to  Vois,  according  to  the  location  of  the 
"valleys;  the  two  parts  of  the  tenth  which  you  hold  of 
"the  farm  of  Crespy  from  the  bishop  of  Laon,  and  all 
"that  has  been  given  to  you  in  this  same  place  by  our 

*  In  regard  to  the  church  of  St.  Annal,  in  the  diocese  of  Metz, 
Madelaine  observes  that  this  church  is  not  mentioned  in  any 
catalogue,  and  we  read  in  MSS.  of  Hugo,  T.  I.,  p.  77:  "Fate- 
mur  ignorare  ubi  steterit.  .  .  ."  VandenElsen  is  of  the 
opinion  that  the  cathedral  of  Metz  is  meant,  whose  patron  was 
St.  Annal.  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  3101,  and  VandenElsen,  p. 
185. 


The  Papal  Bull  of  Confirmation  215 

"beloved  son  Louis,  King  of  France;  the  freehold  of 
' '  Clairef ontaine,  the  freehold  of  Ramignies  with  the  mill, 
' '  three  farms  at  Bolmont,  a  farm  at  Anisy  with  the  mill, 
"a  farm  at  Fraisnes;  at  Souppy  three  and  a  half  farms 
"and  the  freehold  called  Bonnuel;  at  Soissons  a  house 
' '  with  vineyard  and  land ;  vineyards  in  Laonnais, 
"  Broiencourt,  Wissignicourt  and  Montarcenne;  and  be- 
"  sides,  all  that  you  in  the  future  through  the  concessions 
"of  pontiffs  or  the  liberality  of  kings  and  princes,  or 
"through  other  honest  means,  may  be  able  to  acquire 
"canonically,  We  desire  that  you  and  your  successors 
"who  will  remain  firm  in  the  profession  you  have  em- 
"  braced,  possess  in  an  unviolable  manner. 

"We  forbid  any  person  to  dare  trouble  your 
"churches,  to  take  your  property,  keep  it,  diminish  it 
' '  or  trouble  you  by  bold  vexations.  We  ordain  that  your 
"goods  be  kept  entire  to  serve  for  the  sustenance  of  the 
"brethren  and  the  poor,  having  regard,  nevertheless, 
t  i  for  the  rights  which  belong  to  the  diocesan  bishops.  If 
"then  in  the  future  any  person,  be  he  an  ecclesiastic  or  a 
"secular,  knowing  this,  Our  regulation,  will  have  acted 
"in  opposition  to  it,  and  if  after  two  or  three  admonitions 
"he  refuses  to  give  satisfaction,  he  shall  be  deprived  of 
"his  authority  and  dignity;  and  he  should  know  that  he 
"will  have  to  appear  one  day  before  the  Divine  Tri- 
"bunal  to  render  an  account  of  his  iniquity.  For  the 
"present  he  shall  be  excluded  from  all  participation  in 
"the  Body  and  Blood  of  our  God  and  Redeemer,  our 
' '  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  and  on  the  final  judgment  day  he 
"shall  be  submitted  to  rigorous  vengeance. 

* '  In  regard  to  those,  on  the  contrary,  who  will  respect 
"the  right  of  your  churches,  may  the  peace  of  Our  Lord 
"Jesus  Christ  be  with  them;  may  they  receive  in  this 


216  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

"life  the  fruits  of  their  good  works,  and  in  the  life  to 
"come,  may  they  find  the  reward  of  an  eternal  peace. 
' '  Amen/' 

I,  Honorius,  bishop  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
Given  from  the  palace  of  the  Later  an  by  the  hand 
of  Haimeric,  Cardinal-Deacon  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Church  and  Chancellor,  XIV  Kal.  Mart.  (Feb- 
ruary 16th).  The  year  of  the  Incarnation  of  Our 
Lord,  1126,  the  second  year  of  the  Pontificate  of 
Lord  Honorius,  Pope.5 

Thus  at  last  Norbert 's  wish  was  gratified  in  every  re- 
spect. Christ 's  Representative  had  fully  approved  of  and 
confirmed  the  work  of  the  Saint,  and  thus  silenced  his 
enemies.  One  finds  in  the  church  of  Mortain  in  the  dio- 


sLe  Paige,  "Biblioth.  Ord.  Praem.,  p.  392.  It  is  to  be  no- 
ticed that  not  all  Premonstratensian  Foundations  are  named 
in  this  Bull.  Madelaine  observes  (p.  310)  that  the  only  rea- 
son for  this  was  a  lack  of  definitive  organization  in  the  places 
omitted.  However,  VandenElsen  says  that  the  Saint  did  not 
possess  the  houses  of  Cuissy,  Steinfeld  nor  Mont-Cornillon,  but 
that  these  had  taken  upon  themselves  to  follow  the  rules  of 
the  Premonstratensians  without  abdicating  the  right  to  their 
properties.  He  further  continues  that  in  virtue  of  the  Bull  of 
1124,  given  by  the  Legates,  the  sons  of  Norbert  were  canon- 
ically  ranged  among  the  canons  regular,  living  under  the  Rule 
of  St.  Augustine.  The  Bulls  of  1126  confirm  the  former  and 
recognize  their  houses  and  lawful  possessions.  He  further 
adds  that  only  since  1131  the  Premonstratensian  Order  has 
been  recognized  by  another  Papal  Bull  as  an  Order  separate 
and  distinct  from  all  other  Orders  of  canons  regular. 

In  regard  to  the  third  Bull  (see  above  p.  213),  this  same 
author,  quoting  "Analectes  pour  1'histoire  eccl.  de  Belgique," 
XII,  p.  35,  says  that  the  Bull  approving  and  confirming  the 
abbey  of  Ploreffe,  was  received  by  Norbert  on  March  4th. 


A  Mysterious  Voice  Heard  at  Rome  217 

cese  of  Constanz,  a  valuable  painting  representing  this 
memorable  scene,  "Norbert  kneeling  before  Pope  Honor- 
ins,  who  hands  him  the  Bulls  of  approval  and  confirma- 
tion of  the  Premonstratensian  Order."6 

"While  at  Rome,  Norbert,  in  company  with  his  three 
disciples,  daily  visited  the  tombs  of  the  Apostles  and  the 
many  places  consecrated  by  the  blood  of  the  martyrs,  as 
St.  Lawrence,  St.  Agnes,  St.  Cecilia.  The  thought  of 
what  these  holy  apostles  and  martyrs  had  suffered  and 
done  for  the  glory  of  God  and  of  the  Church,  filled  him 
with  a  burning  desire  to  work  and  suffer  like  them.  Al- 
mighty God  will  soon  grant  him  this  desire,  but  in  a 
manner  wholly  unexpected  by  the  Saint. 

It  happened  that  one  day,  when  Norbert  and  his  com- 
panions were  in  prayer  and  meditation,  all  distinctly 
heard  a  voice  intimating  that  Norbert  was  soon  to  be 
bishop  of  Parthenopolis  (Magdeburg).  "When  they  arose 
from  prayer  not  one  dared  to  speak  of  the  incident,  for 
although  all  had  heard  the  same  prophetic  words,  they 
were  afraid  to  think  of  any  separation,  and  therefore 
kept  the  secret,  each  in  his  own  heart.  It  was  sad  news 
for  all,  but  Norbert  especially  was  overpowered  by  grief 
at  the  thought:  first,  of  the  dignity  and  responsibility; 
and,  secondly,  of  the  consequent  separation  from  his  breth- 
ren, for  never  for  a  moment  did  the  Saint  doubt  the  real- 
ity of  this  prophecy.7 

Having  received  for  the  last  time  the  apostolic  bless- 
ing from  Pope  Honorius  for  himself  and  his  brethren, 
Norbert  left  Rome,  eager  to  return  to  his  brethren  and 


eMadelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  307. 

7  Vita  Pertz,  Ch.  XV.   Manifesto  auditum  est  quod  Pathenop- 
olis  futurus  esset  antistes.    .    .    .    Vita  B,  Ch.  XXXIV. 


218  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

communicate  to  them  the  great  favors  he  had  obtained 
from  the  Sovereign  Pontiff.  One  of  his  companions  he 
sent  by  way  of  France  to  inform  Count  Theobald  of  his 
return.  The  Count  h,ad  been  anxiously  awaiting  him  in 
order  to  be  able  to  complete  the  arrangements  for  his 
marriage  with  Mathilda. 

Norbert  himself  made  the  journey  once  more  by  way 
of  Germany,  preaching  in  the  towns  through  which  he 
was  obliged  to  pass.  Everywhere  Almighty  God  blessed 
the  word  of  His  apostle,  and  not  only  did  he  succeed  in 
making  numerous  conversions,  but  he  also  was  enabled 
to  make  different  new  foundations,  and  thus  perpetuate 
his  noble  work.  He  founded  not  far  from  Nem- 
mingen,  the  monastery  of  Both  in  the  diocese  of  Con- 
stanz,  through  the  generosity  of  Henna,  baroness  of  Wil- 
denberg.  Burchard  became  its  first  superior,  and  few 
monasteries  in  Germany  have  exercised  greater  influence 
than  this  foundation.  It  became  the  mother  of  other 
houses,  one  of  which,  the  abbey  of  Wilten  near  Inns- 
bruck, is  in  a  flourishing  condition  to-day.8 

The  abbey  of  Roggenburg  in  the  diocese  of  Augsburg, 
situated  two  miles  from  Ulm,  was  also  founded  at  this 
time.  The  monastery  of  Ursperg,  only  recently  founded, 
sent  there  the  first  religious.  In  the  seventeenth  century 
this  abbey  of  Boggenburg  was  especially  known  for  its 
rich  and  excellent  library.  Like  most  of  Norbert 's  foun- 
dations, it  also  had  a  convent  for  nuns  nearby,  which 
convent  existed  over  two  hundred  years.9 


«Cfr.  Cath.  Encyclop.,  Vol.  XV.  "Weissenau,"  another 
daughterhouse  of  the  Abbey  of  Roth. 

s  Cfr.  Suevia  Ecclesiastica,  p.  722.  Also  Annal.  Ord.  Praem., 
T.  II,  col.  697,  et  seq.  "Rothura"  and  "Roggenburgum." 


Norbert  at  Wurzburg  219 

Although  wherever  Norbert  went  the  people  were  al- 
ways greatly  edified  at  what  they  saw  and  heard,  no 
town  felt  the  effect  of  Norbert 's  zeal  and  charity  more 
than  Wurzburg.  At  the  time  of  the  Saint's  arrival  the 
place  was  in  mourning  for  the  death  of  its  bishop,  Rud- 
ger.  Although  the  good  bishop  had  died  the  year  before, 
the  people  now  more  than  ever  felt  their  great  loss,  for  a 
young  cleric,  Gebhard  of  Henneburg,  unworthy  as  he 
was,  tried  to  raise  himself  to  this  episcopal  see.  How- 
ever, as  we  learn  from  a  letter  written  by  the  Pope,  on 
March  4th,  Gebhard 's  candidacy  had  been  rejected.  We 
have  reason  to  suppose  that  Norbert  came  to  Wurzburg 
with  a  particular  mission  from  the  Holy  Father  regard- 
ing this  matter,  since  his  coming  was  known  in  the 
place.  Upon  his  arrival  clergy  as  well  as  laity  went  out 
in  large  numbers  to  meet  him,  and  urgently  requested 
him  to  celebrate  the  sacred  functions  during  Holy  Week 
and  Easter.10 

When  on  Easter  Sunday  the  Saint  was  celebrating 
High  Mass  in  the  cathedral  of  Wurzburg  before  a  large 
assembly  of  people,  a  miraculous  cure  at  once  convinced 
all  the  people  of  his  sanctity.  They  had  already,  no 
doubt,  a  great  opinion  of  his  holiness,  for,  says  the  biog- 
rapher, during  this  Solemn  Function  a  blind  woman  was 
carried  before  the  altar.  She  was  known  to  all,  and  great 
was  the  people's  expectation  when  after  the  Communion 
of  the  Mass,  she  loudly  begged  the  Saint  to  restore  her 
sight.  Norbert,  touched  with  compassion  and  seeing  her 
great  faith,  went  to  her  immediately,  as  if  driven  by 
a  divine  impulse.  After  a  fervent  prayer  he  breathed  on 

10  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  189,  who  further  quotes  W.  Bern- 
hardi,  p.  108,  and  Hefele,  V.  442. 


220  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

her  eyes,  and  who  can  describe  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
people  when,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  all,  the  woman 
instantly  recovered  her  sight.11 

This  great  miracle  witnessed  by  the  whole  city,  deeply 
touched  the  hearts  of  all,  and  greatly  increased  their  ven- 
eration for  Norbert,  who  used  this  popularity  to  make  his 
preaching  more  effective.  His  holiness  was  proclaimed 
everywhere,  and  people  said  of  him  that  by  the  breath 
of  his  mouth  he  made  the  blind  to  see,  and  by  the  unction 
of  his  words  he  opened  the  eyes  and  touched  the  hearts 
of  the  most  obdurate  sinners.  Two  of  the  most  promin- 
ent men  of  the  town,  Canon  John  and  his  brother  Henry, 
were  so  deeply  impressed  by  Norbert 's  sermons  and  so 
much  edified  by  his  simple  manner  of  life,  that  both  re- 
nounced the  world,  joined  the  Saint  in  his  apostolic 
work,  and  with  their  property  founded  the  abbey  of 
Oberzel,  situated  one  mile  outside  the  city  of  Wurzburg. 
This  foundation,  though  at  first  nothing  but  a  small 
oratory  in  honor  of  St.  Michael,  prospered  greatly  under 
the  management  of  John,  who  in  due  time  became  its 
first  superior.  The  monastery  was  built  later,  a  little 
further  away,  and  was  then  called  Unterzell.  Pope 
Innocent  II  solemnly  confirmed  this  foundation,  on  the 
20th  of  February,  1133. 

Soon  the  Saint  no  longer  felt  at  ease  in  the  city  of 
Wurzburg.  The  great  miracle  was  on  the  lips  of  all, 
and  the  people  were  so  enthusiastic  and  so  full  of  ad- 
miration for  Norbert,  that  they  proclaimed  him  their 
new  bishop,  adding  that  such  was  plainly  the  will  of  God. 


11  Cfr.  Vita  B,  Ch.  XXXIV.  Vita,  Pertz,  Ch.  XV.  Pertz  VI. 
Sigeb.  contin.  Praem.,  p.  449 — the  Office  of  St.  Norbert  and 
further  every  biographer  of  the  Saint. 


Norbert  Leaves  the  City  Secretly  221 

Therefore  Norbert  and  his  companions,  fearing  lest  the 
prophetic  words  heard  at  Rome,  might  already  be  veri- 
fied, secretly  fled  from  the  city,  and  resumed  their  jour- 
ney homeward. 

Leaving  Germany  the  Saint  had  to  pass  through  Lor- 
raine. The  Duchy  of  Lorraine  was  then  governed  by 
Simon,  son  of  Thierry-le-Vaillant.  The  duke  went  out 
to  meet  the  Saint  and  begged  the  illustrious  traveler  to 
"make  a  stay  at  his  castle  of  Preny,  where  in  consequence 
Norbert  and  his  companions  were  received  with  the 
greatest  ceremony.12  Thanks  to  the  generosity  of  this 
Count  there  was  founded  here  the  abbey  of  Sainte  Marie- 
au-Bois,  which  abbey  Norbert  placed  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Richard,  one  of  the  early  disciples  of  Laon,  who 
wisely  governed  the  house  for  nearly  thirty  years.  Dur- 
ing the  seventeenth  century  this  abbey  was  the  place 
where  a  reform  of  the  Order  to  its  original  strictness, 
was  inaugurated  by  Abbot  Servace  de  Lairvelz.13 

The  month  of  May  was  nearly  over  when  Norbert  ar- 
rived again  at  his  dear  Premontre.  "We  can  better  im- 
agine than  describe  his  joy  on  entering  the  house  of  his 
choice,  after  this  long  absence.  And  when  he  beheld 
once  more  his  beloved  disciples,  and  related  to  them  the 
great  success  he  had  met  with  everywhere  on  his  jour- 
ney— when  he  told  them  of  his  reception  at  Rome  where 
he  received  the  Pope's  confirmation  of  the  Order,  and 

12  The  ancient  registers  of  the  castle  describe  the  order  of 
ceremonies  and  also  contain  a  list  of  the  expenses  made  by 
Simon,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  for  this  festive  reception  of  Norbert. 
Cfr.  Hugo  "Vie  de  Saint  Norbert,"  p.  191. 

13  According  to  Hugo,  o.  c.,  p.  194,  this  abbey,  which  in  the 
seventeenth   century   was   transferred   to   Pont-a-Mousson,   is 
being  used  today  as  a  small  seminary. 


222  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

when  he  further  imparted  to  them  the  apostolic  blessing 
of  the  Pontiff  .  .  .  how  fervently  all  must  have  thanked 
and  praised  God  for  His  great  goodness  towards  them! 

On  the  other  hand,  the  soul  of  Norbert  was  deeply 
moved  at  the  dire  distress  in  which  the  brethren  were 
on  account  of  their  great  charity  for  the  poor  during  the 
famine.  True,  they  had  been  able  to  supply  daily  500 
poor  people  with  the  necessities  of  life,  but  only  by  ob- 
serving the  strictest  fast  themselves.  Norbert  found 
them  all  emaciated  and  pale,  and  truly  deserving  of  com- 
passion. He  consoled  them,  therefore,  with  those  sweet 
and  tender  words  which  so  spontaneously  flowed  from 
his  heart. 

Once  back  in  the  quiet  of  the  monastery,  Norbert 
was  perfectly  happy  and  busied  himself  with  the  affairs 
of  the  house,  and  especially  with  the  instruction  of  the 
brethren  morning  and  evening.  In  explaining  to  them 
the  spirit  of  the  Order,  which  was  union  of  the  active 
and  contemplative  life,  Norbert  insisted  on  the  practice 
of  monastic  virtues  no  less  than  on  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures,  which,  as  future  missionaries,  they  could 
never  know  too  well.  An  extract  of  one  of  these  allocu- 
tions of  Norbert  to  his  disciples  has  come  down  to  us 
and  is  as  follows:14 

"My  dear  children,  never  be  tired  of  studying  these 
"writings,  in  which  you  find  a  short  exhortation  to  re- 
"main  faithful  in  the  service  of  God.  For  the  Word  of 
"God  is  fiery,  as  the  prophet  says:  it  is  inflamed  with 
"the  fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  it  consumes  vices  and  pro- 
' '  motes  virtue ;  it  bestows  wisdom  on  well  disposed  men, 

14  Sermo  Sancti  Norberti,  taken  from  the  ''Vita"  by  Abbot 
Van  der  Sterre  (1630). 


An  Allocution  of  Saint  Norbert  223 

"and  provides  for  them  heavenly  food.  Therefore  Our 
' '  Savior  has  said :  Blessed  are  they  who  hear  the  Word 
"of  God  and  keep  it.  In  this  manner  also  Mary  Magda- 
len, by  listening  attentively  and  devoutly  to  the  Word 
"of  God,  is  said  to  have  chosen  the  best  part,  which 
"Martha,  so  solicitous  in  her  outward  administrations, 
"was  not  able  to  obtain.  Listen,  therefore,  cheerfully  to 
"the  Word  of  God,  keep  it  judiciously  and  observe  it 
"faithfully,  in  order  that  at  the  end  of  time  you  may 
"rejoice  to  hear  these  consoling  words  of  Christ:  Come 
"ye  blessed  of  My  Father,  possess  you  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 
(Matt.  XXV.  34.) 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FAREWELL  TO 


Tempora  Norberti  nunc  Magdeburgica  c-ingit 
Inter  Teutonicas  Infula  prima  Mitras. 

Norbert,  Champion  of  the  Lord, 

Vowed  to  lead  with  fearless  word 

His  warriors  on,  Magdeburg  is  seeking  thee  — 

While  busily  engaged  in  the  training  of  young  re- 
ligious at  Premontre,  Norbert  was  not  less  watchful  in 
regard  to  the  other  houses.  Up  to  this  time  all  the 
foundations  were  governed  by  simple  superiors,  without 
either  the  title  or  dignity  of  abbot.  Now,  however,  his 
first  care  was  to  make  preparations  for  the  solemn  bene- 
diction of  two  abbots:  Gautier  for  the  monastery  of  St. 
Martin  at  Laon,  and  Henry  for  the  house  at  Viviers. 
Bishop  Bartholomew  conferred  the  abbatial  dignity  upon 
Gautier,  and  Lisiard,  Bishop  of  Soissons,  upon  Henry.1 
Thus  were  Gautier  and  Henry  the  first  disciples  of  Nor- 
bert to  receive  the  dignity  which  the  saint  himself  re- 
fused. They  were  abbots,  however,  without  either  ring 
or  mitre  ;  they  bore  only  the  crozier  as  the  symbol  of  the 
authority  they  had  over  their  subjects.2  In  1225, 
the  Provost  of  St.  Mary's  at  Magdeburg  received 
from  Pope  Gregory  IX  authorization  to  wear  the  mitre 


1  Cfr.  Vita  B,  Ch.  XXXV.     Also  Pertz    VI.     Sigeb.    Contin. 
Praem.,  p.  449. 

2  Cfr.  Hugo  "Annales  Ord.  Praem."    T.  I.  Praefatio  IX, 

224 


The  Growth  of  Norlert's  Order  225 

and  other  episcopal  insignia.  Other  abbots  also  have 
asked  for  this  privilege,  and  the  custom  has  become  gen- 
eral.3 

At  the  urgent  request  of  many  bishops  new  colonies 
were  constantly  sent  out  from  Premontre  at  this  time, 
and  numerous  foundations  made.  The  practice  of  the 
Saint,  previously  referred  to,  namely,  of  incorpor- 
ating into  the  Order  existing  houses  of  secular  canons, 
greatly  increased  the  number  of  Norbert's  disciples.  In 
this  manner  the  houses  of  Viviers,  Cuissy  and  Braine 
had  already  become  Premonstratensian  abbeys,  and  it 
was  at  this  time  that  the  abbey  of  Steiiifeld  adopted  Nor- 
bert's  rules  and  constitutions.  This  abbey,  situated  but 
a  few  miles  from  the  city  of  Cologne  in  the  valley  of 
"Eifel,"  had  for  some  years  been  inhabited  by  canons 
regular  of  Springirsbach,  who  now,  upon  the  advice  of 
Frederic,  Archbishop  of  Cologne,  sought  from  Norbert 
the  favor  of  affiliating  themselves  to  this  Order.  The  su- 
perior of  the  canons  was  appointed  Provost  of  the  com- 
munity by  Norbert,  and  he  obtained  in  1126  from  Pope 
Honorius  II  confirmation  of  the  church  and  monastery 
of  St.  Mary  of  Steinfeld,  it  being  now  a  Premonstraten- 
sian foundation.4  This  superior's  name  was  Evervinus 

s  Be  it  observed  here  that  there  always  has  been  some  differ- 
ence between  the  houses  in  Germany  and  those  in  other  coun- 
tries in  regard  to  the  title  of  the  superior.  The  German  supe- 
riors were  never  called  abbots,  but  provosts.  As  early  as  1146, 
all  superiors  of  the  Order  were  permitted  by  a  Bull  of  Pope 
Eugenius  III,  to  receive  the  abbatial  benediction  but  did  not 
make  use  of  the  privilege  until  1225.  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p. 
317. 

4  Cfr.  Hugo  Annals,  T.  II.  Steinfeldia,  col.  851,  et  seq.  Mi- 
raeus,  Chron.  Ord.  Praem.,  p.  45,  ad  annum  1126. 


226  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

of  Helfenstein.  "We  read  of  him  in  the  works  of  St. 
Bernard.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  St.  Bernard  about  the 
heretics  infesting  the  diocese  of  Cologne,  and  this  letter 
became  the  occasion1  of  two  of  St.  Bernard's  sermons.5 

The  abbey  of  Steinfeld  is,  moreover,  well  known  on 
account  of  Blessed  Herman  Joseph,  the  popular  Saint 
for  youth.  "When  only  twelve  years  old,  Bl.  Herman 
Joseph  became  a  postulant  in  this  monastery.  This  was 
in  the  year  1162.  He  died  79  years  later,  having  been 
throughout  his  life  an  example  of  piety  and  obedience, 
and  above  all  a  child  of  Mary,  favored  by  her  in  a  most 
wonderful  manner.6 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  observed  that  Norbert, 
when  leaving  the  city  of  Rome,  had  sent  one  of  his  com- 
panions to  Count  Theobald  to  advise  him  of  Norbert 's 
return.  So  about  this  time  a  messenger  from  the  Count 
came  to  Premontre  requesting  the  Saint  to  accompany 
Theobald  to  Ratisbon,  to  conclude  negotiations  for  the 


s  Sermons  LXV  and  LXVI  (of  St.  Bernard)  thus  says  S.  J. 
Eales,  which  begin  from  the  exposition  of  that  verse,  "Take  us 
the  little  foxes"  (ii,  15),  the  Saint  composed  against  the  here- 
tics of  Cologne,  having  been  induced  to  do  this  by  a  letter  writ- 
ten to  him  by  Everwin,  provost  of  Steinfeld,  which  letter  he 
seems  on  that  account  to  have  placed  at  the  head  of  those  two 
sermons.  "Works  of  St.  Bernard,'-'  Vol.  IV,  p.  4.  The  letter  is 
also  found  in  the  same  volume,  p.  388,  and  shows  plainly  that 
Everwin  was  the  apostle  of  Cologne  as  Norbert  was  the  apostle 
of  Antwerp.  In  the  first  vol.,  p.  66,  Eales  observes:  "I  have 
not  the  least  doubt  that  these  heretics  of  Cologne  were  pro- 
duced in  the  workshop  of  Tanchelm." 

6  Cfr.  Life  of  Bl.  Hermann  Joseph  by  Wilfrid  Gallway,  where 
it  is  also  stated  (p.  18)  that  the  once  famous  monastery  of 
Steinfeld  is  no  more,  but  that  a  reform  school  has  been  erected 
on  the  place  where  the  old  abbey  stood. 


Norbert  is  About  to  Leave  Premontre  227 

intended  marriage.  This  messenger  seems  to  have  been 
the  Bishop  of  Chartres  himself,  who  was  a  friend  of  both 
Theobald  and  Norbert.  We  infer  this  from  the  fact  that, 
at  this  time  the  Saint  informed  Bishop  Geoffrey  of  his 
vision  in  regard  to  his  future  bishopric.  Although  Nor- 
bert knew  not  how  nor  where,  he  was  convinced  that  it 
was  to  come  that  year,  and  since  the  see  of  Magdeburg 
was  vacant  at  the  time,  he  told  the  bishop  in  confidence 
why  he  feared  to  undertake  this  journey.7  On  the 
other  hand,  however,  Norbert  knew  how  much  he  owed 
to  the  generous  Count  Theobald,  and  that  moreover  he 
himself  had  been  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the 
coming  marriage.  Thus  when  the  Count  himself  came  to 
Premontre  and  insisted,  the  Saint  no  longer  refused,  al- 
though filled  with  strange  forebodings. 

Norbert  seemed  to  know  that  he  was  to  leave  Pre- 
montre for  good,  and  was  sad  at  heart.  Having  received 
Norbert 's  promise,  Count  Theobald  left  Premontre,  and 
no  sooner  was  he  gone  than  the  Saint  called  the  religious 
together  and  addressed  them  in  the  most  tender  words, 
as  a  father  speaking  to  his  children  for  the  last  time. 
This  allocution,  by  some  called  the  Sermon  of  St.  Nor- 
bert, by  others  his  "Farewell  Address,"  has  happily 
been  preserved.8  It  forms  Norbert 's  spiritual  testament 

7  This  fact  is  stated  in  the  Acta  SS.  (T.  XX,  p.  853)  as  fol- 
lows: "Colloquens  familiari  suo  Domino  Godefrido  Canotensis 
"urbis  episcopo,  dixit  ei  se  per  visum  cognovisse  quod  ipso 
"anno  futurus  esset  episcopus.  .  .  ."  Cfr.  also  Hugo  "La  Vie  de 
saint  Norbert,"  p.  202. 

s  Cfr.  Hugo,  o.  c.,  p.  202-206  who  speaks  of  this  address  as  a 
letter  which  Norbert  sent  to  the  canons  later.  The  early 
biographer  says  plainly  "Valefaciens  autem  fratribus  suis." 
Vita  A,  Ch,  XVI.  Cfr.  also  VanderSterre  "Vita  8,  Norberti," 


228  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

to  his  beloved  children,  whose  sadness  and  bewilderment 
on  this  occasion,  can  better  be  imagined  than  expressed. 
As  tears  and  sighs  expressed  the  grief  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Miletus  on  the  departure  of  St.  Paul,  the  Apostle,  so 
now  at  Premontre  did  sorrow  find  expression  in  tears 
and  sighs.  Although  the  exhortation  might  seem  rather 
lengthy  to  insert  here,  still  it  is  so  clear  a  reflection  of 
Norbert's  soul,  that  we  can  not  refrain  from  giving  a 
translation : 

' '  We  exhort  you,  dearest  brethren,  to  be  most  diligent 
"in  the  service  of  God,  to  Whom  you  have  consecrated 
"yourselves  by  the  solemn  profession  of  your  vows.  For, 
' '  having  of  your  .own  free  will  and  for  the  love  of  God 
"renounced  your  earthly  possessions,  and  also  your  en- 
"tire  selves,  you  are  obliged  daily  to  carry  the  Cross  of 
"Christ:  that  is,  you  are  obliged  continually  to  mortify 
"your  passions  and  spend  your  days  in  works  of  pen- 
"ance,  suffering  patiently  the  trials  which  will  not  fail 
"to  come  to  you  from  all  sides. 

"This  indeed,  is  the  narrow  road  to  heaven,  our  true 
"country.  This  is  the  road  which  Jesus  Christ  has 
"pointed  out  to  us  by  His  life  and  His  death,  His  words 
"and  His  deeds,  and  which  infallibly  leads  to  their 
"heavenly  country  all  who  persevere  to  the  end  in  that 
"path.  You  cannot  go  to  Christ  unless  you  enter  upon 
"this  narrow  road  with  courage  and  confidence,  and  do 
"your  best  to  follow  it.  An  Apostle  has  said:  'For  he 
"also  that  striveth  for  the  mastery,  is  not  crowned  ex- 


pp.  261-170.  Sermo  .  .  .  Fath.  Jerome  Hirhaim,  Abbot 
of  Strahov,  Prague,  has  paraphrased  this  address  in  his  in- 
structions to  the  religious.  "Sermo  S.  Norberti  enucleatus"  in- 
fol.  1676.  Cfr.  Madelaine^o.  c.,  pp.  322-326. 


SAINT  NORBERT. 
(So-called  Vera  Effigies.) 


(Abbey  of  Averbode,  Belgium.) 
Painting  by  Abraham  van  Diepenbeek  (1599-1675) 


Norlert's  Farewell  Address  229 

"cept  he  strive  lawfully;'  (II.  Tim.  II.  5.)  and  another: 
"  'He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  Him,  ought  himself  also 
"to  walk,  even  as  He  walked.'  (I  St.  John  II.  6.) 
"Walk  therefore  cautiously  in  the  way  which  God  has 
"shown  you,  lest  you  be  overtaken  by  death.  Let  your 
* '  obedience  be  prompt,  your  poverty  voluntary,  and  your 
"chastity  above  suspicion.  Without  these  three  virtues, 
"that  which  constitutes  our  Order  is  wholly  destroyed. 

"You  have  promised  stability  or  perseverance  in  this 
"holy  place;  remain,  therefore,  faithful* in  the  service 
"of  God,  and  never  grow  weary  of  your  duties  in  the 
"monastery.  Never  leave  except  when  you  are  obliged 
"to  do  so  on  account  of  temporal  affairs,  and  in  case  of 
"necessity,  lest  these  useless  excursions  rob  you  of  the 
"sweetness  of  a  virtuous  life  and  of  the  consolation  which 
"you  find  in  meditating  on  the  divine  mysteries ;  and  lest 
"also  these  excursions  lead  you  astray  and  cause  you  to 
"love  the  wicked  world  wherein  there  is  no  place  free 
"from  corruption.  For,  as  a  fish  out  of  the  water  is 
"entirely  deprived  of  its  natural  and  necessary  element, 
"and  hence  soon  dies,  so  a  vagrant  religious  frequently 
1 '  found  in  the  midst  of  a  wicked  world,  deprived  as  he  is 
"of  the  protection  of  the  cloister,  far  away  from  the 
* '  example  and  salutary  lessons  of  his  brethren,  soon  falls 
"into  sin  and  gets  entangled  in  the  snares  of  everlasting 
"death.  Flee,  therefore,  my  dearest  brethren,  the  com- 
"pany  of  worldly  persons  as  a  fish  avoids  a  dry  place, 
"but  love  the  cloister  which  protects  you  and  keeps  the 
"mind  pure.  For  you  make  an  unworthy  use  of  the 
"glorious  name  of  your  religious  vocation,  if  by  your 
"earthly  desires  you  show  that  you  are  more  attached 
"to  the  world  than  to  God. 

"Remain,  therefore,  constantly  in  the  monastery,  and 


230  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

"  remain  there  united  by  the  bonds  of  charity.  Keep  a 
"particular  watch  over  your  tongue  in  order  that  by 
"avoiding  murmuring,  detraction  and  envy,  you. may 
"all  have,  in  the  words  of  our  Rule,  one  heart  and  one 
"soul  in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  For  a  slanderous  and 
"deceitful  tongue  is  a  restless  evil  and  full  of  deadly 
"poison.  It  never  ceases  to  do  harm  and  to  destroy  the 
"sweet  peace  of  the  monastery,  and  unnerve  the  piety 
"of  the  community.  It  is  therefore  commonly  said  of 
"those:  'A  quarrelsome  and  grumbling  monk  is  never 
* '  a  true  monk. ' ' 

1  i  Therefore  I  repeat,  put  a  restraint  upon  your  tongue. 
"Raise  up  your  hearts  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven  where 
"true  joys  are  to  be  found.  Animated  by  holy  desires 
* '  take  your  flight  with  the  saints  in  the  regions  above  in 
"the  contemplation  of  the  divine  mysteries.  Bear  with 
"grief  the  burden  of  your  bodies,  so  that  you  may  say 
"with  the  Apostle:  'I  desire  to  be  dissolved  and  to  be 
"with  Christ/  (Phil.  I.  3)  and  with  the  Psalmist: 
"  *  Bring  our  souls,  0  Lord,  out  of  the  prison  of  our 
"bodies.'  (Ps.  CXLI.  8.)  And  thus  you  will  reign 
"eternally  with  Christ,  "Who  reads  our  innermost 
"thoughts. 

' '  Though  outwardly  fairly  clad  with  the  white  habit — 
"a  symbol  of  simplicity  and  innocence — but  inwardly 
"miserable,  deprived  of  the  spirit  of  religious  perfection, 
"should  any  one  of  you  not  observe  the  discipline  of  the 
"Order,  but  despise  the  wholesome  lessons  of  his  supe- 
"rior  and  even  perhaps  the  superior  himself,  let  him  re- 
"  member  that  the  thoughts  of  our  hearts  are  known  to 
1 '  God,  and  that,  unless  he  repent  in  time,  he  will  not  es- 
"cape  the  eternal  torments  of  hell  wherein  there  is  no 
"order,  but  where  an  everlasting  confusion  dwelleth. 


Norbert  on  His  Way  to  Ratisbon  231 

"Endeavor,  therefore,  to  avoid  the  terrible  judgments 
"of  God  by  constantly  doing  His  will  in  fear  and  right- 
"eousness,  in  order  that  God  may  keep  you  in  holy  reli- 
gion, and  that  in  His  mercies  He  may  preserve  you 
"from  everlasting  punishment  in  hell.  God  will  abund- 
"antly  reward  those  who  are  faithful  in  His  service,  for 
"God  gives  a  great  reward  for  a  small  service,  as  He 
*  *  Himself  promised  His  disciples,  who  having  abandoned 
"all  they  had,  asked  what  should  be  their  reward :  ' You 
"shall  receive  a  hundredfold  and  possess  life  everlast- 
"ing.'  (Mat.  XIX.  29.)  May  Jesus  Christ  lead  you 
"there.  Amen." 

After  this  exhortation,  having  impressed  once  more 
on  the  minds  of  the  brethren  the  necessity  of  practicing 
charity  towards  the  poor  and  the  sick,  Norbert  gave  over 
to  Hugh  the  government  of  his  dear  monastery.  He 
then  mounted  his  donkey  and  took  the  road  to  the  castle 
"Chateau  Thierry"  where  Count  Theobald  impatiently 
awaited  his  coming.  That  God  might  bless  the  object  of 
their  journey,  Norbert  induced  the  Count  to  receive  the 
Sacraments  of  Penance  and  the  Holy  Eucharist.9  Fin- 
ally, towards  the  end  of  the  month  of  June,  all  started 
on  their  way  to  Ratisbon. 

The  Count  was  escorted  by  his  court  and,  sur- 
rounded by  several  members  of  the  nobility,  was  advanc- 
ing with  great  pomp  and  splendor.  Norbert  was  riding 
on  his  donkey,  accompanied  by  two  of  his  brethren  with 
whom  he  spent  the  time  in  prayer  and  pious  conversa- 
tion. According  to  a  plan  prearranged  by  the  Bishop  of 
Ratisbon  and  Norbert,  the  bridal  parties  were  to  meet 

o  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  330.    Hugo,  o.  c.,  p.  210. 


232  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

on  the  border  of  Germany.10  Think  of  the  great  disap- 
pointment of  all,  when  on  reaching  the  place,  they  were 
met,  not  by  the  Marquess  of  Crayburg  and  his  daughter 
Mathilda,  but  by  deputies  who  were  sent  to  inform  them 
of  the  serious  illness  of  the  bride.  This  sad  intelligence 
was  a  terrible  trial  for  the  Count  and  his  friends ;  the 
more  so  because  some  of  his  party  expressed  their  doubts 
about  the  illness  of  the  princess,  and  saw  in  it  an  excuse 
for  breaking  the  engagement. 

After  holding  counsel  among  themselves,  it  was  de- 
cided that  Norbert  was  the  only  man  able  to  assist  the 
count  in  the  unpleasant  situation,  and  he  was  to  do  this 
by  going  himself  to  Ratisbon,  to  ascertain  what  were  the 
real  conditions.  Norbert,  seeing  the  reasonableness  of 
the  request,  for  the  Saint  himself  was  greatly  perplexed, 
consented  to  the  proposal,  and  the  Count  gave  him  eighti 
silver  marks  to  defray  the  expenses  of  this  journey.  The 
money,  however,  Norbert  at  once  dispatched  to  Pre- 
montre,  where  he  knew  it  was  greatly  needed  for  the 
poor.11  He  thus  undertook  the  journey  as  he  always  did, 
without  money,  but  with  a  great  confidence  in  Divine 
Providence. 

Be  it  observed  here  in  a  few  words  that  Norbert  never 
really  fulfilled  this  mission,  for  the  princess  had  truly 
been  indisposed  on  her  way  to  Metz.  After  she  recov- 
ered, all  took  place  as  prearranged.  The  Count  and 


10  VandenElsen  says  that  the  meeting  was  arranged  for  the 
city  of  Metz;  he  bases  his  opinion  on  Hermann  and  on  Hugo, 
who  on  p.  191  speak  even  of  the  great  banquet  prepared  here 
for  this  occasion.     VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  194. 

11  Cfr.  Hugo,  "La  Vie  de  saint  Norbert,"  p.  213. 


Norbert  at  the  Diet  of  Spires  233 

Mathilda  were  happily  joined  in  the  bonds  of  matrimony, 
probably  by  Norbert  himself.12 

On  his  wiay  to  Ratisbon  Norbert  was  obliged  to  pass' 
through  the  city  of  Spires,  where  at  that  time  a  solemn 
Diet  of  Bishops  and  German  princes  was  being  held 
under  Lothaire  III.  The  news  of  Norbert 's  arrival  soon 
spread  through  Spires,  and  Lothaire,  having  heard  so 
much  of  his  numerous  miracles  and  heroic  virtues,  ex- 
pressed a  wish  to  see  him  and  consult  him  in  regard  to 
some  important  affairs  which  were  being  treated  at  the 
Diet.  How  accidental  it  all  seemed,  and  yet  we  shall  soon 
see  clearly  that  it  was  the  work  of  Divine  Providence. 

There  were  present  at  the  Diet,  first  of  all,  two  Le- 
gates of  Pope  Honorius,  Cardinal  Gerard,  who  after- 
wards occupied  St.  Peter's  Throne  under  the  name  of 
Lucius  II,  and  Cardinal  Peter  of  the  title  of  St.  Marcel- 
lus.  Besides,  there  was  Adalbert,  Archbishop  of  Mainz ; 
Albero  of  Metz,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Treves,  and  a  num- 
ber of  bishops,  abbots  and  nobles.  Then  there  was,  and 
this  is  most  important  to  know,  a  large  deputation  of 
clergy  and  laity  from  Madgeburg,  who  had  come  to 
solicit  from  the  papal  Legates  and  King  Lothaire  a  suc- 
cessor to  Archbishop  Rudger,  who  had  died,  Dec.  20th, 

12  Thus  VandenElsen,  p.  195.  We  further  know  that  out  of 
this  union  were  born  ten  children,  some  of  whom  are  well- 
known  persons  in  history.  Thus  the  eldest  son,  Henry,  who 
married  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  Prance,  went  twice  to 
Jerusalem  with  the  Crusaders,  and  his  son  became  King  of 
Jerusalem,  in  1205.  The  fourth  son  became  an  Archbishop  and 
even  Cardinal  and  Legate  of  the  Roman  Church  in  Gaul.  His 
name  was  William.  It  was  in  order  to  gratify  his  wishes  that 
Alexander  III  conferred  on  the  see  of  Rheims  the  right  of  con- 
secrating the  French  King.  Confer  H.  d'Arblois  de  Jubain- 
ville.  S.  Eales,  op.  cit,  p.  769.  (Vol.  II.) 


234  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

1124.  Thus  far  there  had  been  a  disagreement  whenever 
an  election  had  taken  place  for  a  successor.  In  fact, 
things  were  in  such  a  state  in  Magdeburg  that  King 
Lothaire  had  celebrated  Easter  in  that  place  in  order 
that  by  his  presence  and  authority  he  might  bring  them 
to  an  agreement,  but  without  success.  Now  these  depu- 
ties had  come  to  Spires  in  order  to  try  to  settle  affairs 
before  this  solemn  assembly.13  This  question  was  just 
being  treated  when  the  Saint's  arrival  was  announced. 

Norbert  was  well  known  to  all  these  dignitaries,  since 
his  disciples  were  represented  in  the  dioceses  of  nearly 
all  the  bishops  present.  Again,  the  great  miracle  of  Wurz- 
burg,  where  the  Saint  had  restored  the  sight  to  a  blind 
woman,  was  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  all,  for  Wurz- 
burg  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  Spires.  No  wonder  there- 
fore that  Norbert 's  arrival  was  hailed  by  every  one  as 
the  coming  of  a  man  sent  by  God  to  help  them  solve 
their  difficulties.  He  was  at  once  asked  to  speak,  and 
took  for  his  subject  the  very  difficulty  that  occupied  the 
minds  of  all.  He  spoke  of  the  duties  of  superiors,  the 
obedience  of  subjects,  and  thus  came  to  the  government 
of  churches  and  the  election  of  its  pastors. 

His  persuasive  eloquence  produced  marvelous  results, 
say  the  biographers,  and  soon  the  election  for  the  see 
of  Magdeburg  was  taken  up  with  great  earnestness.  By 
one  faction,  Conrad  of  Querfurt  had  really  been  elected, 
but  his  election  had  for  different  reasons  not  been  con- 
firmed. However,  he  was  again  a  candidate  with  Albero 
of  Metz.  "When  after  the  first  election  the  ballots  were 
counted,  Norbert,  who  was  unaware  of  his  having  been 

isCfr.  Hertel  "Leben  des  H.  Norbert."  Also  Tenckhoff,  p. 
29.  Further  Chron.  Gratiae  Dei — Ann.  Saxon.  VI,  763  ad 
annum,  1126. 


Norbert  is  Proclaimed  Archbishop  235 

proposed  as  a  candidate,  heard  to  his  great  consterna- 
tion, his  own  name  mentioned  several  times.  Trembling 
with  fear  he  decided  to  leave  at  once,  and  protested  with 
all  his  might.  His  departure  was  prevented,  however, 
and  what  is  more,  suddenly  Albero  of  Metz  arose  in  the 
assembly  and  declared  openly  that  Norbert  was  the  fu- 
ture bishop  by  God's  choice,  and  that  it  was  useless  to 
deliberate  any  longer.14  At  this  moment  all  present 
arose  and  proclaimed  Norbert  as  the  new  Archbishop  of 
Magdeburg.  Again  Norbert  tried  to  escape  from  the 
hall,  but  the  deputies  of  Magdeburg  followed  him  and 
carried  him  in  triumph  before  the  papal  Legates  and 
King  Lothaire,  crying:  "Him  we  want  for  our  Bishop 
and  Father."15 

Norbert,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  entreated  both  the 
Legates  and  the  King  not  to  confirm  this  election.  But 
it  was  all  in  vain ;  on  the  contrary,  the  Legates  as  well 
as  the  King  made  use  of  all  their  authority  to  oblige 
Norbert  to  yield.  The  Legate,  Cardinal  Gerard,  arose 
then  in  the  assembly  and  spoke  these  solemn  words: 
"And  We,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and 
"of  the  Holy  Ghost,  "We  elect  and  name  for  your  Bishop, 
"Master  Norbert,  a  man  of  tried  virtue,  whom  God,  We 
"are  fully  convinced,  has  sent  here  for  this  purpose. " 

i*  Cfr.  Acta  SS.  T.  XX,  p.  854.  Also  Pertz  Gesta  Alberonis 
(VIII).  .  .  .  Suis  effecit  ingeniis  Albero  quod  domnus  Nor- 
bertus,  vir  famosae  religionis,  eamdem  ecclesiam  regendam 
suscepit. 

is  Tito  B,  Ch.  XLII.  "Hunc  in  Patrem  eligimus;  hunc  pas- 
torem  nostrum,  approbamus."  Cfr.  Pertz  VI.  Sigeb.  Contin. 
Praem.  ad  annum  1127.  The  indication  of  the  year,  observes 
Madelaine,  is  without  doubt  a  mistake,  since  it  is  certain  that 
this  event  took  place  in  the  month  of  July,  1126. 


236  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Norbert  then  submitted  to  what  he  was  now  convinced 
was  God's  holy  Will.  And  thus  was  fulfilled  the  pro- 
phecy made  to  his  mother  Hadwigis,  at  the  time  of  his 
birth,  and  also  the  prophetic  words  heard  in  Rome. 

Wonderful  indeed  are  the  ways  of  Divine  Providence ! 
The  Saint  had  been  detained  on  his  way  to  Ratisbon, 
whither  he  was  going  to  find  a  bride  for  Count  Theobald, 
and  God  had  prepared  a  spiritual  bride  for  himself  in 
the  church  of  Magdeburg.  The  chronicler  of  Branden- 
burg concludes  the  description  of  the  above  events  with 
these  words:  ''Thus  the  emperor  himself  had  pro- 
" claimed  Norbert  as  Archbishop;  the  Legates  in  the 
"name  of  Pope  Honorius  confirmed  the  nomination  in 
"the  midst  of  loud  acclamations  of  all  the  representa- 
tives of  the  church  of  Magdeburg/'16  "And,"  says  the 
chronicler  Hermann,  "A  Te  Deum  was  solemnly  intoned 
"to  thank  God  for  this  unforeseen  but  happy  turn  of 
"events." 

Kneeling  before  the  King,  Norbert  then  received  the 
pectoral  Cross,17  while  Cardinal  Gerard  addressed  him 
with  these  words :  ' '  By  the  authority  of  Almighty  God, 
"the  Holy  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul  and  of  Lord  Pope 
"Honorius,  I  command  you  no  longer  to  resist  this  call 
"from  God.  As  a  faithful  and  prudent  servant,  ad- 
"  minister  the  treasures  of  the  Word  of  God  which  are 
"confided  to  you,  that  on  the  great  day  of  the  Lord  you 
"may  hear  these  consoling  words:  'Well  done,  faithful 
"servant,  enter  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord.7  " 


is  Vita  A,  Ch.  XVI. 

17  Ibidem:  Ad  imperatoris  genua  humiliatus,  virgam  pas- 
toralem,  quae  quasi  in  manibus  ejus  inserebatur,  accipere 
coactus  est. 


Norbert  Takes  Leave  of  the  Papal  Legates       237 

Norbert  now  took  leave  of  the  Legates  and  the  King, 
and  poured  forth  his  heart  in  prayer  to  God.  Kneeling 
before  His  altar,  the  Saint  shed  an  abundance  of  tears. 
The  recent  events  seemed  like  a  dream  to  him,  and  the 
thought  of  his  future  dignity  and  responsibility  made 
him  suffer  a  veritable  agony.  When  he  arose  from  prayer 
he  said:  ''Not  my  will,  but  Thy  will  be  done,  0  God," 
and  with  these  words  he  was  consoled  and  strengthened. 


THIRD  PERIOD. 


From  the  time  Norbert  becomes 
Archbishop    until    his    death. 


1126-1134. 


239 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  ARCHBISHOP. 

Nudipes  ignaro  fert  a  Custode  repulsam, 

Ad  Magde'burgensem  dum  trahitur  GatJiedram. 

Norbert  is  escorted  to  the  Magdeburg  Cathedral,  but  being 
clothed  in  the  garment  of  poverty,  and  barefooted,  he  is  re- 
fused admittance  by  the  doorkeeper. 

While  the  Saint  was  still  at  Spires,  solemn  prepara- 
tions were  made  for  his  departure  and  subsequent  en- 
trance into  Magdeburg.  The  people  first  of  all  prevented 
Norbert  from  going  to  Ratisbon  in  person,  and  obliged 
him  to  delegate  one  of  his  disciples  to  terminate  the  af- 
fair of  Count  Theobald.  They  further  sent  messengers 
to  Premontre  and  other  abbeys  announcing  the  great 
news  of  Norbert 's  election,  and,  to  show  their  great  re- 
spect for  the  Saint,  they  made  festive  preparations  for  his 
departure.  Thus  it  happened  that  on  one  bright  morning 
in  the  month  of  July,  a  great  number  of  people  had  as- 
sembled in  the  streets  of  Spires  to  receive  the  Saint 's  last 
blessing.  Otto,  Bishop  of  Halberstadt,  and  Ludolph, 
Bishop  of  Brandenburg,  both  suffragan  bishops  of 
Magdeburg,  were  present  to  accompany  their  new  Metro- 
politan, and  great  was  the  enthusiasm  of  all  when  at 
last  the  Saint  arrived  on  the  scene.1  Norbert  came  not 
only  without  any  retinue  or  pomp,  but  barefooted  and 
clothed  in  the  religious  habit  of  his  Order.  " Never/7 
says  the  biographer,  "did  any  one  see  so  much  greatness 
and  humility  combined. ' ' 

i  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  343.   Tenckhoff,  o.  c.,  pp.  10-30. 

240 


Norbert  on  His  Way  to  Magdeburg  241 

Having  said  farewell  to  the  good  people  of  Spires,  the 
episcopal  cortege  went  northward,  and,  passing  through 
the  different  towns,  was  received  everywhere  with  the 
greatest  honors.  People  ran  out  of  their  houses  to  pro- 
claim their  great  admiration  for  Norbert,  and  to  beg  him 
for  his  blessing.  But  the  Saint  seemed  deaf  to  the  ac- 
clamations of  the  people,  and  began  to  realize  more 
and  more  the  weight  of  this  great  dignity.  "Norbert 
knew,"  observes  Illana,  "that  he  was  about  to  become 
the  victim  of  his  pastoral  ministry,  but  that  such  was 
God's  holy  will."2 

4ft er  several  days  of  journeying,  and  when  at  last 
Magdeburg  came  in  sight,  the  Saint,  at  the  thought  that 
he  was  about  to  enter  the  city,  over  which  he  was  to  pre- 
side, and  for  which,  as  its  archbishop,  he  would  have  to 
render  an  account  one  day  to  God,  suffered  his  tears  to 
flow  freely.  In  his  great  humility  he  further  dismounted 
from  his  donkey,  says  the  earliest  biographer,  took  the 
shoes  from  his  feet,  and  walked  barefooted  the  last  miles 
of  his  journey.3 

On  the  other  hand,  an  immense  crowd  of  people,  all  in 
festive  attire,  had  eagerly  been  awaiting  his  arrival,  and 
as  soon  as  the  party  came  in  sight,  they  all  went  forth 
to  meet  their  new  Archbishop.  There  was  a  number  of 
nobles  from  the  city  and  the  province,  the  clergy,  the  peo- 
ple, in  a  word,  a  large  and  enthusiastic  multitude.  Great 
were  their  expectations  when  they  came  to  meet  their 
Archbishop  Norbert,  renowned  for  his  preaching  and 
miracles.  Imagine  therefore  their  surprise  when  they 
saw  the  poor  beggar  walking  the  streets  barefooted  on 


2Cfr.  Illana,  p.  140. 

s  Vita  B,  Ch.  XLII.    Cfr.  also  Le  Paige,  p.  395  aiid  Acta.  SS. 
T.  I.  Julii.  Vita  S,  Ottonis  cap.  II. 


242  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

this  hot  summer  day,  covered  with  dust  and  sighing 
sadly  under  the  burden  of  this  new  dignity.  Their  emo- 
tions and  impressions  varied,  for  while  some  were  greatly 
edified,  others  at  once  recognized  a  singular  reformer, 
and  from  that  moment  disliked  him.  Still  this  did  not 
diminish  the  spontaneous  enthusiasm  of  the  people  at 
large,  and  amidst  a  universal  rejoicing  did  Norbert  make 
his  entrance  into  the  city.  This  was  on  July  18,  1126. 

He  was  conducted  to  his  Cathedral,  where  the  Saint 
consecrated  himself  and  his  diocese  to  God,  and  asked 
God  to  bless  them.  From  the  Cathedral  the  procession 
went  through  the  gardens  of  the  episcopal  palace.  It  was 
on  this  occasion  that  a  very  remarkable  incident  oc- 
curred, truly  evidencing  our  dear  Saint's  character. 

From  the  above  description  we  know  that  Norbert 's 
appearance  was  poor  and  beggarly,  and  thus  it  happened 
that  the  porter  at  the  door  of  the  palace  failed  to  see 
anything  in  him  but  a  poor  tramp,  and  rudely  shut  the 
door  in  his  face.  " Don't  you  see,"  he  said,  "that  you 
will  be  entirely  out  of  place  among  all  these  nobles  ?" 
The  Saint  only  smiled,  but  those  around  him  who  saw 
the  porter's  mistake,  became  confused  and  cried  out  to 
him:  "But  he  is  our  Bishop  and  your  Master!"  The 
poor  man,  through  fear  and  shame  at  this  blunder,  was 
about  to  run  away  and  hide  himself  when  Norbert  stayed 
him  and  smilingly  said :  ' '  Fear  not,  my  good  man,  for 
"you  know  me  better  than  all  those  who  have  raised  me 
"to  this  high  dignity,  and  now  force  me  into  this  pal- 


*  Vita  B,  Ch.  XLIII.  Repellitur  ab  ostiario  .  .  .  Hie 
est  episcopus  noster  et  dominus  tuus  .  .  .  Subridendo  di- 
cente:  Ne  timieas.  ,  *  etc. 


Norbert  Becomes  the  Friend  of  the  Poor         243 

The  news  of  the  incident  spread  rapidly  throughout 
the  city,  confirmed  the  impressions  of  those  who  had  been 
edified  at  his  appearance,  and  made  the  new  Archbishop 
at  once  the  friend  of  the  poor  and  the  humble.  These 
felt  that  the  saintly  Archbishop  was  theirs,  and  great 
was  their  joy  and  gratitude.  When  eight  days  later  Nor- 
bert received  the  episcopal  consecration,  these  good  peo- 
ple had  their  houses  decorated  and  the  whole  city  was  in 
festive  attire.5 

Numerous  bishops,  priests  and  nobles,  and  thousands 
of  people  had  come  to  Magdeburg  to  witness  the  grand 
ceremony  of  Norbert 's  consecration,  which  took  place  on 
the  feast  of  St.  James,  July  25,  1126.  The  consecrating 
bishop  was  Udo,  Bishop  of  Naumburg,  who  was  so  im- 
pressed by  the  Saint's  humility,  that  from  that  day  for- 
ward he  considered  him  a  saint,  and  regarded  him  with 
the  greatst  admiration.6  There  were  present  also  Bishop 
Ludolph  of  Brandenburg,  who  had  accompanied  Nor- 
bert on  his  way  to  Magdeburg;  Bishop  Godebold  of 
Meissen,  and  Bishop-elect  Meingotus  of  Merseburg,  who 

s  Some  historians,  misled  by  Herman  of  Laon,  have  errone- 
ously said  that  Norbert's  consecration  took  place  in  Spires  im- 
mediately after  his  election.  Cfr.  Madelaine,  p.  341.  Others 
have  expressed  their  surprise  that  the  Saint  suffered  himself 
to  be  invested  by  the  king  (see  above  p.  236)  before  he  was 
consecrated  and  thus  recognized  the  investiture  by  a  layman 
which  he  always  most  strenuously  had  opposed.  However,  in 
the  Council  of  the  Lateran,  held  three  years  before,  special 
provision  had  been  made  for  the  election  of  German  bishops 
.  .  .  "who  shall  receive  investiture  of  their  fiefs.  .  .  . 
If  Germans,  before — if  Italians,  after  their  consecration.  .  .  ." 
Cfr.  Alzog.  Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  II,  p.  536. 

e  Winter,  p.  329.  Octava  hinc  die,  hoc  est  in  festo  Beati 
Jacobi,  ab  Udone  Cicense  Episcopo,  aliis  .  .  .  consecratur. 


244  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

is  later  to  be  consecrated  by  our  Saint.  These  were  his 
suffragan-bishops.  A  number  of  other  bishops  were 
present,  among  whom  is  especially  mentioned  Otto  of 
Halberstadt,  a  native  of  Magdeburg  and  a  constant 
friend  and  admirer  oi  Norbert.  Other  particulars  about 
the  consecration  the  chronicler  does  not  mention.7  How- 
ever, our  imagination  can  easily  supply  that  which  is 
wanting,  and  especially  picture  Norbert,  the  humble  mis- 
sionary and  convert-maker,  in  the  midst  of  all  this  splen- 
dor, where  he  himself  was  the  center  of  attraction.  Who 
can  doubt  but  that  in  the  midst  of  it  all  the  Saint  was 
in  spirit  in  his  dear  valley  of  Premontre,  thinking 
of  his  children.  As  we  remember,  on  the  first  night  in 
the  little  chapel  of  St.  John,  the  Saint  radiant  with  joy, 
had  exclaimed :  ' '  This  is  the  place  of  my  rest,  and  the 
haven  of  my  salvation,"  and  now  guided  by  God's  Pro- 
vidence he  finds  himself  at  the  head  of  a  great  diocese, 
far  away  from  his  beloved  brethren.  However,  let  us  not 
forget  that  one  of  Norbert 's  most  celebrated  sayings  was : 
"He  who  has  God  on  his  side,  is  troubled  at  nothing." 
(Qui  Deum  habet  pro  se  turbatur  in  nulla  re.)  Norbert 
felt  that  he  was  where  God  wanted  him  to  be. 

Anyone  acquainted  with  existing  conditions  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  twelfth  century,  will  know  that  the  posi- 
tion of  a  zealous  bishop  in  those  days  was  by  no  means 
an  enviable  one.  Over  the  nobility  of  his  province,  for 
instance,  he  exercised  a  kind  of  moral  suzerainty ;  to  the 
bishop  came  the  complaining  voice  of  a  maltreated  wife, 
a  forsaken  heir  or  an  exasperated  vassal.  His  name  and 
episcopal  seal  gave  an  authentic  character  to  the  most 


7  Cfr.  Chron.  Magdeb.  which  may  be  found  in  volume  XX 
of  the  Acta  Sanctorum,  p.,  52. 


Norbert 's  Position  Especially  Trying  245 

important  transactions  of  various  natures.  Moreover,  by 
his  position  he  was  obliged  to  take  counsel  with  the  em- 
peror, and  thus  mingle  in  the  general  affairs  of  the 
Church  and  State.  This  position  therefore  was  truly  a 
trying  one  for  all  bishops,  but  more  so  in  the  case  of 
Norbert.  For  when  we  remember  that  the  Pontificate 
of  the  great  Hildebrand  had  been  a  turning-point  in  his- 
tory, and  that  only  forty  years  had  elapsed  since  then; 
that  the  Church  was  still  being  purified  from  those  most 
deplorable  sins  of  simony  and  incontinence;  that  the 
common  people,  those  that  were  not  of  the  nobility,  were 
considered  by  the  nobles  little  more  than  slaves,  and 
moreover  that  the  last  traces  of  the  struggle  of  Investi- 
ture were  far  from  being  entirely  effaced — I  say,  when, 
we  remember  all  this,  we  can  somewhat  realize  the  deli- 
cate position  of  a  bishop,  who  is  resolved  to  enforce  the 
laws  of  the  Church  both  among  clergy  and  laity,  and 
determined  to  defend  both  the  rights  and  property  of 
the  Church  against  princes  and  nobles,  many  of  whom, 
entirely  disregarding  all  claims  of  justice,  had  so  far 
played  the  part  of  thieves  and  robbers.  But  as  history 
abundantly  proves,  Norbert  was  equal  to  the  times,  and 
yielded  neither  the  rights  of  the  Church  nor  his  own. 
Humble  he  was,  but  in  no  sense  a  weakling. 

No  sooner  had  the  Saint  taken  possession  of  his  Arch- 
bishopric than  he  commenced  putting  order  in  his  own 
house.  His  first  act  was  to  banish  all  unnecessary  lux- 
uries in  regard  to  furniture  and  equipage.  In  doing 
this  he  not  only  followed  his  own  ideas  of  simplicity  and 
economy,  and  his  love  of  poverty  and  humility,  but  he 
fully  understood  that  the  only  way  to  successfully  re- 
form others  is  by  giving  the  example.  At  once  he  met 
with  opposition  from  the  members  of  his  household,  who 


246  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

ascribed  his  innovations  to  avarice.  Naturally  their  op- 
position did  not  in  the  least  deter  Norbert  who  in  his 
own  quiet  way  set  aside  all  superfluity,  and  dismissed 
unnecessary  servants,  He  succeeded,  the  biographer 
says,  in  establishing  a  most  edifying  discipline  among 
those  he  retained.  As  regards  his  person,  in  his  epis- 
copal palace  Norbert  continued  the  austerities  he  prac- 
ticed in  the  cloister,  and  in  a  short  time  his  palace  in  all 
its  internal  arrangements  and  gentle  discipline,  was  truly 
like  a  monastery — a  place  of  piety  and  charity,  where 
the  priests  of  the  diocese  at  any  time  could  find  a  true 
father,  and  the  poor  a  consoler  and  helper. 

Realizing  that  a  bishop  is  not  only  responsible  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  his  flock,  but  also  for  the  temporal 
affairs  of  his  diocese,  Norbert 's  next  act  was  to  examine 
carefully  into  the  title-deeds  of  all  diocesan  property. 
He  soon  found  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  lands 
had  come,  more  or  less  mysteriously,  into  the  hands  of  a 
few  powerful  noblemen.  He  found  that  loans  had  been 
made  at  different  times  which  simply  had  been  forgotten, 
and  in  a  word  that  his  treasury  was  in  a  most  deporable 
condition.  In  fact  he  hardly  had  enough,  says  the  early 
biographer,  to  defray  the  living  expenses  of  his  house- 
hold for  four  months. 

The  new  Archbishop  began  to  collect  whatever  title- 
deeds  he  could  find,  and  also  to  make  out  from  old  rec- 
ords and  the  testimony  of  reliable  men,  the  history  of 
doubtful  property.  This  done,  he  sent  his  commissioners 
to  the  interested  parties  to  explain  the  result  of  his  in- 
quiry, and  to  reclaim  the  patrimony  of  his  church.  When 
this  failed  to  bring  the  desired  results,  Norbert  fear- 
lessly employed  other  means,  and  even  publicly  de- 
nounced the  usurpers.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  oppo- 


The  Opposition  Becomes  General  247 

sition  to  Norbert  was  soon  no  longer  confined  to  a  few 
dissatisfied  members  of  his  household,  but  spread 
throughout  the  diocese.  Some,  it  is  true,  restored  at 
once  their  ill-gotten  goods,  but  those  on  the  other  hand, 
who  were  unwilling  to  do  this,  became  Norbert 's  most 
bitter  enemies.  They  publicly  called  him  a  miser,  a 
hypocrite,  an  adventurer  who  was  fond  of  money.  They 
loaded  him  with  insults,  decried  him  among  themselves, 
and  even  encouraged  one  another  in  their  disobedience, 
and  also  in  contempt  for  his  person.  "Why,"  they  said 
among  themselves,  "should  we  suffer  a  stranger,  poor 
' '  and  unarmed,  who  made  his  entrance  amongst  us  with- 
"out  anything  but  his  donkey,  to  give  us  such  haughty 
"and  peremptory  orders!  If  he  really  is  a  saint,  as  his 
"friends  are  pleased  to  tell  us,  why  does  he  not  then 
"live  on  the  revenue  that  was  sufficient  for  his  pre- 
decessor?"8 

Norbert,  in  no  way  disturbed  by  these  angry  out- 
bursts of  passion,  remained  firm  in  his  demands,  de- 
termined to  recover  whatever  belonged  to  the  church  en- 
trusted to  his  care.  He  now  threatened  the  usurpers  with 
excommunication,  which  in  those  days  had  also  civil  ef- 
fects. And  this  had  in  many  cases  the  desired  result, 
since  we  read  that  by  the  end  of  the  year  a  great  many 
had  restored  their  ill-gotten  goods.  That  the  Arch- 
bishop 's  popularity  had  greatly  suffered  because  of  these 
men,  will  not  surprise  any  one.  But  the  Saint  was  not 
seeking  popular  favor,  but  doing  fearlessly  what  he  con- 
sidered to  be  his  duty.  For  this  reason  Norbert  was 
neither  moved  by  their  tears  nor  affected  by  their 

s  Vita  B,  Ch.  XLIV. 


248  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

threats.  No  calumny  nor  violence  could  ever  make  him 
forsake  the  duties  of  his  sacred  ministry. 

It  is  related  that  the  Saint  went  to  Bolanden  where  a 
nobleman  lived  who  was  known  to  be  a  usurper  of  ec- 
clesiastical property  and  a  robber  of  the  poor.  The 
Archbishop  sent  for  him  and  asked  him:  "How  dare 
"you  do  any  injury  to  St.  Maurice  to  whom  our  cathe- 
' '  dral  is  dedicated,  by  taking  for  your  own  use  that  which 
"was  destined  to  be  used  for  God's  service?"  The  man 
replied  that  what  he  had  he  considered  to  be  his  own 
property,  and  that  he  had  nothing  which  did  not  by 
right  belong  to  him.  After  arguing  for  some  time  with 
this  man,  Norbert  foretold  him  that  within  one  year  God 
would  take  His  own  by  force.  The  man  was  killed  a 
short  time  after.9 

With  even  more  severity  did  the  new  Archbishop  act 
towards  those  of  his  priests  who  had  openly  broken 
their  vows  and  were  leading  licentious  lives.  This  evil, 
alas!  was  great,  and  deeply  rooted,  as  a  consequence  of 
the  lamentable  Investiture,  through  which  so  many  un- 
worthy men  had  been  raised  to  the  dignity  of  the  priest- 
hood. Thus  says  W.  S.  Lilly:  "The  root  of  clerical  in- 
continence and  simony  lay  in  the  custom  of  lay-investi- 
ture, a  practice  which  in  effect  drew  the  prelates  of  the 
Church  into  the  meshes  of  the  feudal  system,  and  which 
had  attained  its  most  disastrous  development  in  Ger- 
many. ...  It  led  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  to 
the  absolute  disposal  of  ecclesiastical  offices  by  the  sover- 
eign— entirely  in  disregard  of  the  rights  of  election 
canonically  vested  in  the  clergy  and  the  people — the 

9  Cfr.  G.  VandenElsen,  who  on  p.  210  quotes  Vita  A,  App. 
VIII.  Geudens,  p.  115. 


Norbert  Touches  the  Hearts  of  His  Priests       249 

mode  of  disposal  very  frequently  adopted  being  that  of 
open  sale."10 

Norbert,  who  never  measured  the  success  of  his  work 
by  the  rules  of  human  wisdom,  hoped,  with  the  assistance 
of  God's  grace,  to  eradicate  the  evil,  and  entirely  blot  out 
this  stain  upon  his  clergy.  He  began  by  using  the  great- 
est kindness,  quietly  reminding  the  guilty  ones  of  the 
laws  and  different  decrees  of  the  Church.  He  spoke  to 
them  of  the  sublime  character  of  the  priesthood,  but  at 
the  same  time  of  its  enormous  obligations  and  responsi- 
bilities. By  the  sweetness  of  his  eloquence  and  the 
power  of  his  arguments,  he  happily  touched  the  hearts 
of  several  of  his  priests,  but  unfortunately,  others  be- 
came only  more  obstinate  in  their  rebellion.  Them  he 
threatened  with  the  penalties  of  excommunication,  and 
when  some  still  persevered  in  their  licentious  manner  of 
living,  he  deprived  them  of  their  sacred  office,  enforced 
the  decrees  of  Pope  Gregory,  and  applied  the  censures 
of  the  Church. 

It  does  not  seem  improbable  that  at  this  critical  time 
in  Norbert 's  life  he  corresponded  with  his  great  friend 
St.  Bernard.  In  a  former  chapter  we  spoke  of  their 
mutual  relations,  and  how  the  two  Saints  helped  each 
other  in  bringing  about  the  much  needed  reform.  There 
is  a  letter  of  St.  Bernard,  found  in  Vol.  Ill  of  the  Work 
edited  by  S.  J.  Eales, already  quoted,letter  488,  addressed 
to  Brother  N.  .  .  .  The  learned  author  observes  in  a 
footnote  that  it  does  not  appear  who  was  this  Brother  N. 
However,  there  are  reasons  to  suppose  that  this, 
lengthy  letter  was  sent  by  St.  Bernard  to  none  other 

10  Chapters  in  European  History,  p.  157. 


250  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

than     Norbert,     and     moreover     sent     at     this     very 
time.11 

Norbert 's  model  in  everything  was  the  great  St.  Au- 
gustine, whose  Rule  he  had  adopted  when  founding  his 
Order,  and  whom,  as  archbishop,  he  had  chosen  for  his 
patron.  The  great  Bishop  of  Hippo  had  also  made  his 
palace  like  a  monastery,  where  he  lived  in  common  with 
some  of  his  priests,  as  did  the  Apostles.  From  him  Nor- 
bert learned/  moreover,  to  have  perfect  confidence  in  God 
and  His  government  of  the  world.  In  those  dark  days 
of  continual  opposition  the  Saint  must  have  often 
thought  of  the  consoling  words  of  St.  Augustine,  which 
according  to  his  biographer  formed  his  habitual  thought : 

' '  Thou  art  just,  0  Lord,  and  Thy  judgment  is  right. ' ' 

Still,  it  would  be  really  an  injustice  to  the  character 
of  Norbert  to  suppose  that  he  was  unduly  severe.  His 
invariable  rule  of  conduct  was  first  to  try  kind  persua- 
sion, and  only  when  this  failed  did  he  fearlessly  enforce 
the  law.  Neither  did  he  himself  ever  make  any  new 
regulations  in  these  matters,  but  only  sternly  applied 
and  enforced  those  rules  that  already  existed.  The  fol- 

11  In  this  letter  we  read:  "Although  it  would  be  more  fit- 
ting for  me  to  receive  such  exhortation  from  you,  than  to  ad- 
dress it  to  you.  .  .  ."  Further  St.  Bernard  insists  greatly 
on  the  exercise  of  charity  in  dealing  with  offenders,  citing  re- 
peatedly the  beautiful  examples  of  Our  Savior,  and  goes  on  in 
24  paragraphs,  giving  advice  to  a  religious,  apparently  living 
away  from  his  monastery,  and  in  the  midst  of  worldly  occu- 
pations. .  .  .  The  whole  is  certainly  a  most  remarkable 
letter,  and  was  taken  by  S.  J.  Eales  from  Eugenius  de  Levis, 
Presbyter,  Anecdota  sacra,  sive  collectio  omnis  generis  opus- 
culorum  veterum  SS.  Patrum,  etc.  Augustae  Taurinorum 
(Migne  Tom.  I,  Col.  653). 


Norbert  Rises  in  the  Estimation  of  All          251 

lowing  testimony  of  him,  written  by  his  contemporary, 
we  find  in  the  Chronicles  of  Magdeburg:  "With  the 
"  greatest  care  he  performed  all  episcopal  functions.  He 
"was  always  ready  to  break  the  Bread  of  Life  for  the 
"people,  and  also  was  ever  an  edifying  example  to  all, 
"in  his  preaching,  his  conversation  and  general  con- 
"duct.  He  observed  with  the  greatest  exactness  and 
"piety  all  the  rubrics,  and  especially  those  of  the  Holy 
"Sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  Before  the  kings  and  princes 
"of  the  world  he  always  appeared  with  dignity  and  rev- 
1 '  erential  authority,  before  his  clergy  and  religious,  with 
* '  love  and  humility. ' ' 12 

"When  Norbert  had  at  last  overcome  much  of  the  op- 
position, and  had  re-established  the  high  repute  of  the 
priesthood  in  his  diocese,  he  rapidly  rose  in  the  estima- 
tion of  clergy  and  people.  Many  even  began  to  speak 
of  him  as  the  savior  of  the  diocese,  and  loved  him  dearly. 
Yet  a  great  number  still  persevered  in  their  opposition, 
and  from  now  on  used  every  means  to  rid  themselves  of 
their  saintly  Archbishop,  and  even  tried  to  take  his  life, 
as  we  shall  see  later. 

Meanwhile  the  time  had  come  when  Norbert  was  to 
receive  the  fullness  of  the  archiepiscopal  power  by  the 
reception  of  the  ' l  Pallium. ' ' 13  Since  his  duties  did  not 

12  Cfr.  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  212. 

is  The  modern  "Pallium"  is  a  circular  band  about  two  inches 
wide,  worn  about  the  neck,  breast  and  shoulders,  and  having 
two  pendants,  one  hanging  down  in  front — one  behind  .  .  . 
is  made  of  white  wool,  part  of  which  is  supplied  by  two  lambs 
presented  annually  as  a  tax  by  the  Lateran  Canons  Regular 
to  the  Chapter  of  St.  John  on  the  feast  of  St.  Agnes  .  .  . 
Is  worn  by  the  Pope  and  by  Archbishops.  .  .  .  An  Archbishop 
is  forbidden  to  perform  any  episcopal  function  until  invested 
with  the  pallium.  Cfr.  Cath.  Encyclopedia. 


252  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

allow  him  to  go  to  Rome  personally,  it  was  sent  to  him 
in  the  spring  of  1127.  We  know  this  from  the  Chronicles 
where  it  is  said  that  Meingotus,  who  had  been  elected 
bishop  on  the  same  day  as  Norbert,  could  not  be  conse- 
crated until  March  20,  being  obliged  to  wait  until  the 
new  Archbishop  had  received  the  pallium.  His  conse- 
cration took  place  on  Passion  Sunday,  on  which  occasion 
Norbert  conferred  also  other  ordinations ;  among  the  or- 
dained was  a  certain  Vicelinus,  who  had  known  the  Saint 
at  the  university  in  Laon,  and  now  presented  himself  to 
Norbert  to  work  in  his  diocese  as  a  priest  among  the 
heathens,  who  were  quite  numerous  at  that  time  in  the 
province  of  the  Archbishop. 

To  gain  an  adequate  idea  of  conditions  in  Norbert 's 
archdiocese  one  must  divide  it  into  two  parts.  First, 
Magdeburg,  situated  on  the  Elbe,  was  one  of  the  oldest 
emporia  of  the  German  trade  for  the  Wends,  who  dwelt 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Elbe.14  After  the  wars  of  the 
years  940  and  954,  when  the  Slavs,  as  far  as  the  Oder, 
had  been  brought  into  subjection  to  German  rule,  Otto 
the  Great  set  to  work  to  establish  an  archbishopric,  which 
was  finally  created  in  962. 15  The  Western  part  was  in- 
habited by  Saxons,  but  the  Eastern  part  of  the  diocese 
by  Wends  or  Slavs,  some  of  whom  had  been  converted 
to  Christianity,  but  the  majority  were  still  worshiping 
idols.  Norbert 's  territory  was  half  pagan  and  half 
Christian.  In  the  dioceses  of  Havelberg  and  Branden- 


i*  The  name  "Wends"  is  a  much  older  designation  in  histor- 
ical authorities  than  "Slavs."  Both  names  have  been  used  con- 
stantly without  distinction  by  German  chroniclers,  the  former 
almost  oftener  than  the  latter.  Cfr.  Cath.  Encyclop.  Art. 
"Slavs." 

is  Ibidem,  Art.  "Magdeburg." 


Tlie  Evangelization  of  the  Wends  253 

burg,  suffragan  sees  of  Magdeburg,  conditions  were  sucu. 
that  the  bishops  were  unable  to  visit  their  people  except 
under  the  special  protection  of  the  German  King.  True, 
the  secular  rulers  of  these  two  provinces,  Pribislau  and 
Witikind,  had  themselves  received  Baptism,  yet  they  also 
were  fettered  by  fear,  and  unable  to  propagate  freely 
the  religion  of  Christ.  Naturally,  pagan  temples  were 
found  throughout  the  province,  and  the  Lusatians  es- 
pecially were  known  to  be  very  antagonistic  to  Chris- 
tianity. Consequently,  Norbert  found  in  his  diocese  a 
great  field  for  genuine  missionary  labor. 

At  the  end  of  1126,  in  an  interview  with  King  Lothaire, 
the  Saint  had  already  conceived  a  plan  to  evangelize  the 
"Wends,  and  in  the  beginning  of  1127  a  missionary  ex- 
pedition left  the  city  of  Magdeburg,  probably  under  the 
direction  of  Norbert  himself.16  On  their  way  north 
these  missionaries  passed  through  Havelberg  where  Wit- 
ikind governed  an  almost  entirely  pagan  tribe.  They 
went  as  far  as  Muritz  without  finding  real  opposition, 
and  succeeded  in  inducing  many  of  the  Wends  to  em- 
brace Christianity.  A  few  years  after,  when  Norbert 
had  been  enabled  to  bring  his  own  religious  into  the 
diocese  of  Magdeburg,  he  sent  numerous  missionaries 
among  the  Wends,  where  he  also  established  different 
monasteries. 

Still,  it  must  be  noticed  that  the  Apostle  of  the  Slavs 
is  considered  to  have  been  St.  Otho,  Bishop  of  Bamberg, 
in  Pomerania,  and  legate  of  Pope  Calixtus  II.  He  had 
worked  among  them  before  Norbert  ever  arrived  in 

ifi  Thus  Madelaine,  p.  354.  VandenElsen  considers  it  more 
probable  that  the  expedition  was  under  the  leadership  of  Vi- 
celinus. 


254  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Magdeburg.  His  second  expedition,  undertaken  in  1128, 
happened  during  Norbert's  time;  and  thus  we  read  of 
Otho  that  he  came  to  Magdeburg  before  undertaking  the 
expedition.17  However,  the  Premonstratensians  also  have 
done  great  work  in  bringing  about  the  conversion  of  the 
Slavs.  Says  Dr.  Winter :  ' '  There  is  no  second  example  in 
"the  whole  history  of  the  Church  during  the  middle 
' '  ages,  of  any  religious  Order  having  completed  the  con- 
' 'version  of  a  whole  country,  such  as  the  Premonstra- 
"tensians  did  in  Wendenland. ' ' 18 

17  Cfr.  Acta  SS.  T.  I.  Julii,  p.  389. 
is  Winter,  p.  31. 


CHAPTER  II. 
A    SUCCESSOR    AT    PR£MONTR£. 

Orbatae  domui  statmt  Norbertus  Hugonem 
Abbatem,  Christo  hunc  suscipiente  Patrem. 

The  choice  of  Bl.  Hugh  to  succeed  Norbert  in  Premontr£  is 
shown  in  a  vision  to  be  the  will  of  God. 

Speaking  in  a  preceding  chapter  of  the  Diet  of  Spires 
where  Norbert 's  election  had  taken  place,  we  had  occa- 
sion to  refer  to  Lothaire,  the  Holy  Roman  Emperor  and 
the  King  of  the  Germans.  Since  the  relations  between  the 
archbishop  and  the  king  were  very  cordial,  and  espe- 
cially so  because  Norbert  took  an  active  part  in  the  strug- 
gle between  Lothaire  and  Conrad,  it  seems  desirable, 
before  proceeding  with  Norbert 's  history,  to  refer  here 
to  the  history  of  Lothaire,  and  to  show  how  our  Saint  as 
archbishop  was  forced  to  resume  his  political  life. 

The  year  before  Norbert  had  become  archbishop,  Lo- 
thaire had  ascended  the  throne,  since  by  the  death  of 
Henry  V  the  House  of  Franconia  had  become  extinct. 
In  order  to  provide  a  successor  to  Henry,  the  ecclesias- 
tical and  secular  lords  of  the  German  states  had  met  in 
the  plain  between  Mainz  and  Worms,  in  1125.  Forty 
electors  had  been  designated  and  the  choice  of  the  ma- 
jority was  Lothaire  of  Saxony.  However,  homage  to  the 
elect  was  refused  by  Frederick  of  Swabia  and  by  Conrad 
of  Franconia,  both  of  whom  were  termed  "Hohenstau- 
f en, ' '  because  of  the  castle  in  which  their  line  had  origi- 
nated; both  of  them  were  also  nephews  of  the  deceased 

255 


256  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Henry  V;  their  mother,  Agnes,  being  a  sister  of  that 
monarch.1 

The  election  of  Lothaire  took  place  on  the  30th  of 
August,  and  on  the  'following  13th  day  of  September 
he  was  crowned  at  Aix-la-Chapelle.  Still  this  did  not 
prevent  Conrad  from  going  to  Milan  and  having  him- 
self crowned  by  Adalbert,  the  Archbishop.  Ill-fated 
Germany  was  doomed  to  another  deluge  of  blood, 
which  lasted  until  1135,  when  Conrad  made  his  final 
submission.  In  the  midst  of  these  troubles  Norbert  up- 
held the  cause  of  Lothaire,  and,  together  with  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Mainz  and  Salzburg,  excommunicated  Conrad 
on  Christmas  day,  one  week  after  he  had  proclaimed 
himiself  King  of  the  Germans,  and  by  his  sedition  and 
rebellion  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  Church  and  the 
State.  Borne  upheld  this  excommunication  and  even  re- 
newed it  on  April  22,  1128,  when  Pope  Honorius  also 
excommunicated  the  Archbishop  of  Milan  for  having  un- 
justly crowned  Conrad  and  for  having  worked  for  his 
cause.2 

Of  Lothaire  we  read  that  he  was  a  noble  and  upright 
character,  courageous  and  energetic,  but  that  he  was 
terrible  to  all  who  were  enemies  of  God  and  the 
Church.3  Small  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  relations 

1  Cfr.  Parsons  "Universal  History,"  Vol.  II,  p.  508. 

2  Cfr.  VandenElsen,  p.  231,  who  quotes  Jaffe,  64 — Hergenro- 
ther  III— 252  (54)—  Bernh.  52  (6).   He  observes  that  the  Pope 
confirmed  the  excommunication   by  Norbert  and    the     other 
bishops  through  the  influence  of  our  Saint  who  had  been  com- 
missioned at  this  time  to  lay  the  matter  before  His  Holiness. 
This  opinion  is  based  on  a  letter  of  Gerochus  to  Pope  Innocent 
II.  (See  Migne  CXCIV,  1374.) 

3  Cfr.  Vita  B.  Ch.  LII  and  further  the  Chronicle  of  Ursperg, 
quoted  by  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  336. 


Norbert 's  Love  for  the  Religious  of  His  Diocese  257 

between  the  Archbishop  and  the  King  were  of  an  inti- 
mate nature.  While  the  King  was  assisting  the  Saint 
in  his  great  work  of  reform,  Norbert,  on  his  part,  fought 
the  king's  cause  against  the  usurper.  Moreover,  since 
Norbert  was  no  stranger  at  the  German  Court,  he  proved 
an  invaluable  aid  to  the  king,  who  often  consulted  him 
on  matters  of  State. 

But  we  shall  return  now  to  Norbert  in  Magdeburg 
where  we  left  him  busily  engaged  in  looking  after  the 
material  as  well  as  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  archdio- 
cese. We  should  not  forget  that  Norbert,  when  he  be- 
came Archbishop,  had  not  ceased  to  be  a  religious.  Thus 
he  continually  wore  the  white  habit  of  the  Order,  and  as 
far  as  he  was  able,  observed  the  rule  of  the  abbeys.  As 
a  Protestant  critic,  Dr.  Winter  observes :  4  Norbert  was 
first  of  all  the  reformer  of  religious  as  well  as  of  priestly 
life,  and  represented  in  his  days  a  kind  of  religious  puri- 
tanism.  His  mission  was  to  bring  the  people  back  to  the 
pure  Gospel,  and  his  motto  therefore  was  the  mtotto  of 
our  late  saintly  Pontiff,  Pius  X,  "to  restore  all  things  in 
Christ. "  Since  Norbert  had  resolved  to  attain  this  end 
by  forming  priests  according  to  his  own  ideals,  or  by 
conferring  the  priestly  dignity  on  religious,  it  can  cause 
no  surprise  that  the  Saint  was  the  great  protector  and 
friend  of  all  religious  in  his  diocese  and  at  the  same 
time  was  anxious  to  introduce  into  his  diocese  the  priests 
formed  under  his  own  supervision. 

There  was  one  monastery  especially  which  was  greatly 
favored  by  the  Archbishop,  the  Benedictine  monastery 
in  Bergen,  a  suburb  of  Magdeburg.  Often,  the  biogra- 
pher says,  Norbert  used  to  retire  to  this  monastery  in 

*  "Die  Pramonstratenser.  ."    Ch.  I. 


258  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

order  to  avoid  the  noise  of  the  world  and  to  find  repose  in 
the  calm  of  prayer  and  monastic  solitude.  He  later 
commissioned  these  Benedictines  to  reform  the  mon- 
astery of  Ammersledeh,  which,  under  their  management, 
became  a  flourishing  institution.  He  further  brought 
needed  reform  into  the  houses  of  Poelde,  Alsleben,  Nien- 
burg  and  Petersberg,  and  founded  the  new  monasteries 
of  "  Gottesgnade  "  and  Leitzkau.  Eightly  therefore 
does  Dr.  Winter  (1.  c.)  observe  that  there  was  not  a  mon- 
astery in  the  diocese  into  which  Norbert  did  not  bring 
reform,  for  religious  were  at  all  times  his  most  beloved 
children. 

However,  if  the  Archbishop  loved  and  protected  all 
religious  of  his  diocese,  it  is  but  natural  that  he  often 
thought  of  his  own  dear  sons  in  Premontre.  The  Saint 
realized  first  of  all  that  his  numerous  episcopal  duties 
did  not  allow  him  to  look  after  the  interests  of  his  Order. 
Thus  when  unfavorable  reports  reached  the  ears  of  Nor- 
bert concerning  conditions  in  his  beloved  valley,  the 
thought  came  to  him  to  have  someone  else  replace  him; 
one  who  could  have  the  entire  direction  of  the  Order. 
This,  no  doubt,  would  be  better  for  the  brethren,  and 
at  the  same  time  would  relieve  Norbert  of  a  great  re- 
sponsibility. It  happened  at  this  time  that  the  Saint 
was  obliged  to  go  to  Aachen  in  the  interest  of  King 
Lothaire,  who  was  still  engaged  in  his  struggle  against 
Conrad.  Norbert  resolved  at  the  time  to  go  to  France 
and  visit  different  foundations,  for  he  wanted  to  speak 
to  the  brethren  of  his  plans  in  regard  to  a  successor  to 
himself.5 


sCfr.  VandenElsen,  p.  232,  who  observes  that  it  is  evident 
from  the  early  biographer  that  Norbert  visited  Pre'montre'  at 


Sad  Conditions  in  Premontre  259 

Before  leaving  Aachen  the  Counts  of  Grimbergen 
came  to  find  the  Saint  and  to  offer  him  their  castle  near 
Brussels  for  a  Premonstratensian  abbey.  Norbert  ac- 
cepted the  gift  and  sent  there  at  once  Humbert  with  some 
of  the  brethren.  Thus  arose  the  Abbey  of  Grimbergen, 
which  brought  forth  in  the  course  of  time  another  house 
near  Mondaye,  in  France,  and  exists  to  this  day,  though 
the  buildings  had  to  be  renewed  after  the  French  Revo- 
lution. 

Alas!  who  can  describe  the  great  disappointment  of 
the  Saint  when,  after  a  tiresome  journey,  he  arrived  at 
his  dear  Premontre,  and  saw  that  the  unfavorable  ru- 
mors he  had  heard  were  based  on  sad  reality.  Condi- 
tions had  greatly  changed  since  he  had  left  two  years 
before;  so  much  so,  the  early  biographer  remarks, 
that  the  Order  was  threatened  with  utter  ruin.6  Al- 
though the  joy  of  the  brethren  was  great  at  Norbert 's 
arrival,  still  there  was  a  note  of  sadness  in  it  all,  which 
the  Saint  did  not  fail  to  notice,  and  which  made  him 
realize  that  his  Institute  was  passing  through  a  severe 
crisis.  The  cause  of  all  this  seems  to  have  been  that,  al- 
though Hugh  had  governed  the  abbey  with  great  zeal 
and  discretion,  the  brethren  had  still  looked  up  to  Nor- 
bert as  their  superior,  as  in  reality,  though  absent,  he 
still  had  continued  to  be.  The  Saint  assembled  the 
brethren,  at  once  opened  his  mind  to  them,  and  spoke  of 
his  future  plans  regarding  the  management  of  the  Order. 


this  time,  since  he  says  in  Ch.  XL VIII  that  the  brethren  had 
waited  for  him  for  two  years.  However,  Madelaine  is  not  only 
silent  upon  this  journey  but  makes  it  positively  appear  that 
Norbert  did  not  go.  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  362. 

fl   Vita  B,  Ch.  XLVIII.    Instantem  dissolutionem  Ordinis  in 
plerisque  locis  videntes.  .  .  . 


260  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

In  order  to  obtain  the  necessary  assistance  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  election  of  a  successor  to  himself,  he  desired 
them  to  unite  their  prayers,  acts  of  charity  and  penance 
for  this  intention.  Many  tears  were  shed  at  this  unex- 
pected announcement.  All  loved  their  spiritual  father 
dearly,  and  were  grieved  indeed  to  lose  him  as  their 
superior.  Norbert,  on  his  part,  must  have  felt  even 
more  than  they,  how  great  a  sacrifice  it  is  to  tear  oneself 
away  from  those  we  love.  He  must  have  remem- 
bered that  first  night  in  the  lonely  chapel  of  St.  John — 
his  subsequent  successes  in  building  the  monastery  and 
the  church — the  constant  influx  of  new  brethren.  Again 
there  passed  before  his  mind  the  many  happy  days  he 
had  spent  here  in  prayer  and  solitude,  while  now  in  his 
diocese  but  little  time  was  left  him  for  spiritual  exercises. 
However,  Norbert  was  a  strong-willed  man,  and  his 
mind  was  made  up.  He  explained  to  the  brethren  that 
it  had  been  obviously  the  work  of  Divine  Providence 
that  he  had  been  raised  to  the  dignity  of  an  archbishop, 
and  that  in  consequence  of  this  he  was  no  longer  able 
properly  to  look  after  the  welfare  of  the  Order.  He 
remained  in  Premontre  as  long  as  duty  allowed  him,  and 
when  leaving  called  some  of  his  earliest  disciples  to  come 
to  him  in  Magdeburg  in  order  to  deliberate  together 
on  the  matter  of  electing  a  new  General. 

On  this  same  journey  Norbert  paid  a  visit  to  his  be- 
loved Cappenberg,  to  console  the  brethren  for  their  loss 
of  Blessed  Godfrey,  of  whom  we  have  spoken  above.  He 
also  went  to  his  native  town,  Xanten,  where  he  was  re- 
ceived with  the  greatest  enthusiasm.7  Those  especial 


7  Cfr.  Vanden  Elsen,  p.  237,  who  further  quotes   Spenrath 
"Xanten  und  seine  Umgebung,"  II,  19. 


Hugh  Leaves  Premontre  261 

canons  who  formerly  had  been  his  enemies,  now  did  all 
in  their  power  to  make  due  reparation.  The  church 
which  had  been  destroyed  by  fire,  in  1109,  had  just  been 
rebuilt,  and  the  Saint  was  privileged  to  reconsecrate 
church  and  altars  with  great  solemnity,  an  imimense 
crowd  of  people  being  present.  This  event  took  place 
on  July  22,  1128. 

Norbert  then  returned  to  his  diocese  and  resumed 
his  episcopal  duties.  Soon  the  disciples,  whom  he  had 
called  from  Premontre  and  other  abbeys,  arrived,  and 
among  them  was  Hugh,  who  during  his  absence  confided 
the  government  of  Premontre  to  Reinerus,  later  abbot 
of  Auxerre. 

St.  Norbert 's  first  biographer  gives  on  this  occasion 
the  rule  of  prudence  which  our  Saint  always  followed 
in  the  transaction  of  important  business  concerning  his 
Order  or  his  diocese.  He  observes  that  when  changes  had 
to  be  made,  regulations  to  be  confirmed,  or  other  im- 
portant affairs  to  be  regulated,  Norbert  first  invariably 
asked  the  prayers  and  then  the  opinion  of  all  those  who 
were  about  him.  He  never  decided  hastily,  but  always 
sought  to  know  the  will  of  God  through  the  opinion  of 
prudent  men.  He  was  further  persuaded  that  the  light 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  obtained  not  only  through  prayer, 
but  also  through  deliberating  with  good  men  united  in 
the  name  of  God.  Thus  then  the  Saint  took  counsel; 
he  joined  his  own  fervent  supplications  with  those  of  the 
brethren,  and  deliberated  with  them  on  the  election  of 
his  successor.  God  graciously  heard  their  prayers,  and 
even  deigned  to  reveal  to  Norbert  that  He  desired  that 
Hugh,  his  first  disciple,  should  take  his  place,  and  that 
he  would  moreover  possess  the  spirit  of  the  Founder 
himself,  in  his  government  of  the  Order.  When  after 


262  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

some  time  the  brethren  were  about  to  return  to  their 
abbeys,  with  the  exception  of  Hugh,  whom  Norbert  re- 
tained for  some  time  with  him  in  Magdeburg,  the  Arch- 
bishop impressed  on  their  minds  to  remember  in  their 
election  Hugh,  his  first  disciple  and  faithful  co-worker 
in  the  foundation  of  Premontre.8  We  ought  to  remark 
here  that  up  to  this  time  Norbert  had  always  made  the 
appointments,  and  elections  had  never  taken  place.  In 
reality  this  first  election  established  a  precedent  which 
to  this  day  is  observed  in  all  the  abbeys. 

"When  the  time  came,"  says  the  biographer,  "Blessed 
Hugh  was  unanimously  elected  by  the  brethren."9  That 
his  election  was  undoubtedly  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  again  confirmed  by  a  revelation  from  on  high,  not 
to  Norbert,  but  to  Hugh  himself.  For  on  the  very  day 
of  the  election,  Hugh,  who  at  the  time  was  still  at  Magde- 
burg, had  a  vision  in  which  he  saw  St.  Norbert  recom- 
mending him  to  Our  Blessed  Lord,  Who  received  him 
from  the  hands  of  Norbert.  Hugh  was  too  humble  to 
speak  at  once  of  this  vision,  but  Norbert  knew  of  it  and 
perhaps  had  seen  the  same  vision,  for  he  said  to  Hugh : 
"Dear  brother,  you  will,  by  the  election  of  our  brethren, 
succeed  me  in  the  house  of  our  poverty."  At  these 
words  Hugh  fell  on  his  knees  before  the  Saint  and  said : 
"I  see,  0  Father,  that  it  is  the  will  of  God  and  that  I 
"must  obey.  I  will  go  in  the  hope  that  He  Who  by  His 
"mercy  has  elevated  me,  by  His  grace  will  sustain  me. 
* '  I  must  sacrifice  my  will  that'  I  may  do  the  will  of  God 
"and  yours.  Still,  if  on  account  of  my  numerous  sins 


s  Cfr.  Vita  A,  Ch.  XVIII. 

9  Ibidem  ...  In  quam  convenit  amabilis  Deo  fratrum  una- 
nimitas. 


Hugh  Becomes  General  of  the  Order  263 

"God  should  refuse  me  His  help/then  may  I  be  per- 
"mitted  to  come  back  to  you,  whom  I  have  chosen  for 
"the  father  and  protector  of  my  soul."  At  this  Nor- 
bert  replied:  "You  will  go  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
"with  confidence,  and  the  hand  of  God  will  be  with  you 
"until  the  end."10 

Soon  news  came  from  Premontre  confirming  the 
vision  of  both  Norbert  and  Hugh,  and  the  arch- 
bishop was  greatly  pleased.  He  did  all  in  his  power  to 
comfort  and  strengthen  Hugh,  who,  though  reluctantly, 
at  last  consented  to  take  upon  himself  the  great  respon- 
sibility. Norbert  gave  him  directions  for  the  management 
of  the  material  as  well  as  the  spiritual  affairs  of  the 
abbey,  and  of  the  whole  Order.  Comforted  and  strength- 
ened by  Norbert 's  blessing,  Hugh  left  Magdeburg,  and 
was  solemnly  installed  and  consecrated  abbot  by  the 
Bishop  of  Laon.  On  this  same  occasion  "Waltman,  Pro- 
vost of  Antwerp,  also  received  the  abbatial  consecration, 
and  also  Eichard,  Abbot  of  Floreffe,  and  Odon  of  Bonne 
Esperance. 

Once  firmly  established  in  Premontre,  Hugh's  first 
work  was  to  find  means  to  promote  unity  and  uniform- 
ity in  the  different  foundations.  So  far  the  authority 
of  Norbert  had  been  a  sufficient  guarantee  to  preserve 
uniformity,  but  since  his  departure  for  Magdeburg  re- 
lations between  the  different  foundations  seemed  to  have 
weakened.  Having  no  court  of  appeal,  local  superiors 
had  often  found  themselves  obliged  to  interpret  part  of 
the  rules,  and  adapt  them  to  circumstances.  Again,  as 
the  reader  remembers,  there  were  foundations  where 
only  two  or  three  of  the  brethren  had  received  their  re- 

10  Vita  B,  Ch.  XLVIII. 


264  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

ligious  training  in  Premontre,  and  this  was  more  or 
less  the  cause  of  the  little  uniformity  between  some 
foundations  and  the  mother-abbey,  Premontre,  though 
in  individual  abbeys,  'the  discipline  was  excellent,  for 
the  brethren  were  all  still  in  their  first  fervor. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  establish  unity  and  uniformity 
in  the  Order,  Hugh,  once  he  had  been  elected  Abbot- 
General,  called  together  the  different  superiors  and  a 
General  Chapter  was  held  at  Premontre.11  Present  were : 
Gautier,  Abbot  of  St.  Martin  at  Laon ;  Richard,  Abbot  of 
Floreffe;  Henry,  Abbot  of  Viviers;  Waltman,  Abbot  of 
St.  Michael  at  Antwerp;  and  Odon,  Abbot  of  Bonne 
Esperance.  No  reasons  are  given  anywhere  why  a 
greater  number  of  superiors  were  not  present  at  this 
first  General  Chapter,  but  it  seems  that  the  situation  was 
such  that  it  was  impossible  to  wait  for  all  to  assemble.12 
No  doubt  the  absence  of  Norbert  was  also  partly  re- 
sponsible. Nevertheless,  important  decrees  were'  en^ 
acted  which  later  on  were  sanctioned  by  other  General 
Chapters  and  Sovereign  Pontiffs.  According  to  the  pos- 
itive instructions  of  St.  Norbert,  the  following  resolu- 
tions were  agreed  upon : 

1.  That  all  Superiors  of  the  Order,  the  General,  the 
Abbots  and  Provosts,  should  be  elected  by  the  brethren, 
and  for  life. 

2.  That  the  General  Chapter  should  be  the  highest 
or  supreme  tribunal  in  the  Order,  and  that  all  the  Ab- 
bots and  even  the  General  should  owe  obedience  to  it. 
Further,  that  it  should  be  convoked  every  year  at  Pre- 
montre, for  October  9,  feast  of  St.  Denis,  and  that  all 
Abbots  and  Provosts  were  obliged  to  attend. 

11  Vita  B,  Ch.  XLVIII. 

12  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  365. 


The  Decrees  of  the  First  General  Chapter       265 

3.  The  fast  was  changed  from  a  perpetual  one  to 
one  of  seven  months,  but  the  use  of  flesh-meat  was  never 
allowed.    Fasting  was  to  be  observed  from  the  feast  of 
the  Exaltation  of  the  Cross  until  Easter. 

4.  Special  rules  were  made  to  guide  Abbots,  Priors 
and  other  officials  of  an  abbey  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties;  likewise  for  the  Superiors  of  convents  of  nuns, 
for  parish  priests,  confessors  and  missionaries. 

These  were  the  first  written  statutes  of  the  Order, 
and  became  the  nucleus  of  the  Constitutions  of  the  Pre- 
monstratensian  Order.  Naturally,  in  the  course  of  eight 
hundred  years,  changes  had  to  be  made  from  time  to 
time.  Official  new  editions  appeared  in  1290,  in  1505 
and  in  1630,  but  of  these  we  will  speak  in  the  second 
volume. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  this  first  conference  of  the  dif- 
ferent abbots  did  untold  good  in  the  way  of  promoting 
uniformity.  Besides,  as  long  as  Blessed  Hugh  lived,  the 
Chapter  was  held  every  year,  and  the  attendance  grad- 
ually increased.  In  the  second  year  there  were  nine  ab- 
bots present ;  the  third,  12 ;  the  fourth,  18 ;  and,  before 
Hugh  died,  there  were  as  many  as  120  abbots  in  one 
General  Chapter. 

Norbert,  who  during  these  three  years  of  his  episco- 
pate had  already  done  so  much  to  reform  his  clergy, 
often  had  expressed  his  ardent  desire  of  seeing  some  of 
his  brethren  of  Premontre  permanently  established  near 
him  in  Magdeburg.  In  this  matter,  however,  the  Saint 
found  great  opposition.  "The  Canons, "  observes  Dr. 
"Winter,  "were  so  little  pleased  with  the  reforms  of  their 
strict  Archbishop,  that  they  refused  to  admit  a  number 
of  men  of  the  same  spirit  into  the  city."  But,  in  the 


266  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

ways  of  Divine  Providence,  "all  works  to  the  good  of 
those  who  love  Him." 

There  was  near  the  episcopal  palace  a  collegiate 
church  dedicated  to  the  Mother  of  God,  where  some  sec- 
ular canons  lived  under  the  authority  of  a  provost.  They 
were  leading  a  life  far  from  edifying,  and  when  Nor- 
bert's  efforts  to  bring  about  a  reform  had  failed,  the 
only  course  open  to  him  was  to  introduce  priests  formed 
by  himself.  But  in  this  he  was  strongly  opposed,  espe- 
cially by  an  archdeacon,  by  the  name  of  Atticus,  to 
whom  we  shall  be  obliged  to  refer  later. 

However,  Norbert  at  last  succeeded  in  prevailing  upon 
the  Canons  of  St.  Mary's  Chapter,  and  they  gave  up 
their  church  to  the  Premonstratensians.  The  reasons 
for  the  change,  which  was  confirmed  by  Pope  Honorius 
as  well  as  by  King  Lothaire,  are  given  in  a  Charter  of 
October  29,  1129:  the  good  of  the  church  and  the  wel- 
fare of  the  diocese : 

' '  In  the  name  of  the  Holy  and  Indivisible  Trinity. ' ' 

"Norbert,  by  the  grace  of  God,  Archbishop  of  the 
"Church  of  Magdeburg.  "We  want  it  to  be  known  to 
"all  present  and  to  come,  that  We,  having  considered 
"the  state  of  the  Church  at  Magdeburg,  have  resolved 
"to  revive  the  splendor  of  religion  in  her,  to  re-establish 
"her  in  her  immunities,  to  reform  in  her  the  abuses 
"which  have  crept  in,  and  to  perfect  the  good  which  We 
"have  found  there  established.  Now  we  have  seen  that 
"the  church  of  St.  Mary,  situated  in  this  city,  has  so 
"strangely  fallen  into  decay,  inside  and  outside, 
"that  even  the  buildings  are  nearly  in  ruins,  and  that 
"there  hardly  remains  enough  for  the  sustenance  of  the 
"twelve  Canons,  who,  according  to  the  foundation,  must 
"celebrate  the  Divine  Office.  Part  of  their  funds  have 


The  Charter  of  St.  Mary's  Provostry  267 

"been  distributed  among  the  officers  of  the  prince,  part 
"was  wasted  by  the  negligence  of  the  clerics,  and  the 
"rest  has  been  seized  by  neighbors,  and  there  is  no  hope 
1  i  of  being  able  to  recover  it. 

"We,  therefore,  having  considered  their  poverty  and 
"their  frequent  complaints,  and  wishing  moreover  to 
"see  the  Church  rather  increase  than  diminish,  have  ob- 
"tained  from  the  canons  by  our  prayers,  our  exhorta- 
"tions  and  counsels,  that  they  give  up  their  church  to 
"the  religious  who  lead  the  common  life  under  the  Rule 
"of  St.  Augustine,  and  that  they  place  themselves  at 
"our  disposal  without  any  restraint.  But  in  our  anx- 
' '  iety  to  place  them  under  claustral  discipline  and  under 
"the  government  of  a  dean,  we  have  incorporated  them 
"into  other  churches  of  the  city.  Some  of  them  we  have 
"placed  in  the  church  of  St.  Nicholas.  To  others  we 
"have  assigned  part  of  the  revenues  of  St.  Mary's.  We 
' '  have  also  transferred  to  our  brethren  the  ancient  funds 
"and  rights  of  St.  Mary's;  and  in  order  to  procure  for 
"them  peace  and  a  more  solid  tranquility,  we  have  or- 
"dained  that  in  future  they  will  depend  only  on  us 
"and  our  episcopal  successors. 

"And  in  order  that  these  regulations  may  be  perma- 
"nent,  we  confirm  them  by  the  authority  of  the  Holy 
"Apostles  Peter  and  Paul.  To  those  who  will  observe 
"them  we  wish  peace  and  the  remission  of  their  sins. 
"But  if  any  person  of  whatever  condition  he  be,  dares 
"to  destroy  the  fruit  of  our  labor,  and  by  a  bold  at- 
"  tempt,  to  disturb  the  poor  of  Christ,  let  him  be  anath- 
' '  ema  until  the  day  of  the  Lord. 

"Done  in  the  year  of  the  Incarnation  of  Our  Lord, 
"1129,  on  the  29th  of  October,  in  the  abbey  of  St.  John 


268  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

"the  Baptist  (of  Bergen),  a  suburb  of  the  city  of  Magde- 
burg."   The  signatures  of  eight  canons  follow.13 

As  soon  as  Norbert  saw  his  cherished  plan  realized, 
the  old  Chapter  of  St.'  Mary  was  changed  into  a  mission- 
house,  and  Evermode,  one  of  the  first  disciples  and  a  most 
faithful  companion  of  Norbert  in  his  apostolic  labors, 
became  the  first  Provost  of  the  young  community.  The 
liouse  became  the  center  of  missionary  activity,  for  these 
holy  and  zealous  missionaries  revived  by  their  exhorta- 
tions and  edifying  lives  the  faith  in  the  archdiocese,  and 
went  out  from  there  propagating  the  Gospel  among  the 
Wends,  of  whom  we  spoke  in  the  last  chapter.  More- 
over, as  there  was  such  a  great  want  of  priests  and  es- 
pecially of  good  priests  in  those  days,  Norbert  soon  en- 
trusted several  other  parishes  to  the  care  of  his  breth- 
ren, and  with  their  assistance  succeeded  to  a  great  ex- 
tent in  re-establishing  the  full  practice  of  religion  in 
his  archdiocese. 


13  Cfr.  Hugo  Annal.  Ord.  Praem.  T.  II.  Probat.,  col.  CVIII. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PERSECUTION. 

Vix  Canonum  Sacra  jura  Foves,  Fervcnsque  tueris, 
Mox  Enses,  Hastas  effera  turba  movet. 
Stas  tamen  Impavidus;  turbaeque,  Hostesque  recedunt. 
In  Sacra  jus  gladii  nilque  valere  docent. 

Great  Pastor!     Model  of  thy  flock!     Thy  mind, 
Fixed  on  eternal  interests,  entwined 
Round  God's  unchanging  Church,  thy  constant  care; 
They  struck  thee  with  the  sword.  .   .   . 

(Office  of  St.  Norbert) 

Although.  Norbert 's  success  in  bringing  about  reforms 
in  his  diocese  and  in  recovering  the  patrimony  of  the 
Church  won  the  love  and  admiration  of  many,  as  we 
observed  above,  it  also  was  the  cause  of  embittering  his 
opponents.  "Who  has  ever  ventured  to  attack  inveterate 
abuses  without  meeting  desperate  opposition  ?  Calumny 
and  persecution  have  invariably  been  the  portion  of  all 
those  who  would  follow  the  Crucified  Redeemer. 
"Blessed  are  they  who  suffer  persecution  for  justice's 


Since  Norbert 's  brethren  from  Premontre  had  come 
into  the  city,  and  his  enemies,  to  use  their  own  words, 
had  to  deal  no  longer  with  one  reformer  but  with  many, 
they  no  longer  were  satisfied  with  abusing  their  Arch- 
bishop in  words,  but,  blinded  by  passion,  they  actually 
made  an  attempt  on  his  life.  Satan  incited  some  wicked 
laymen  and  dissolute  priests  to  conspire  against  the  ener- 
getic Archbishop  and  kill  him.  A  plot  was  formed  in 
Magdeburg  and  the  soul  of  it  was  the  archdeacon,  At- 

269 


270  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

ticus,  also  known  in  history  under  the  name  of  Hatseco 
or  Jetzo.  This  cleric,  who  by  his  position  exercised 
great  influence  throughout  the  diocese,  bore  Norbert  a 
mortal  hatred,  and  showed  himself  until  the  end,  Nor- 
bert's  most  bitter  enemy.1 

On  this  occasion  he  and  some  of  his  colleagues,  fear- 
ing to  act  openly,  bribed  a  low  individual  to  murder 
Norbert.  The  plan  was  attempted  on  April  12,  1129. 
We  read  in  the  original  biography  of  the  Saint,  that 
on  the  10th  of  April,  the  Archbishop  was  still  twenty 
miles  away  from  Magdeburg,  at  Goslar,  where  on  that 
day  he,  with  King  Lothare,  signed  in  the  old  castle  at 
Kaiserburg,  a  solemn  Charter  for  the  erection  of  a  Sis- 
ters' convent  at  Altena  or  Elten.  Immediately  after,  he 
returned  home  in  great  haste  to  be  able  to  celebrate  the 
Divine  Services  of  Holy  Week  in  his  Cathedral.2 

When  on  Thursday  the  Saint  was  hearing  confessions, 
and  people  came  in  large  numbers  imploring  God's  par- 
don of  their  sins,  there  was  seen  among  the  penitents  a 
young  man,  dressed  in  a  long  cloak,  who  asked  to  be 
immediately  admitted  into  the  presence  of  the  Arch- 
bishop to  make  his  confession.  The  porter  announced 
the  young  man,  but  the  Saint  answered,  not  to  let  him 
enter.  The  young  man  urged  once  more  his  request, 
and  the  Saint  obliged  him  to  wait  in  the  episcopal  palace 
until  the  crowd  had  been  heard.3 

Evidently  God  had  revealed  to  His  servant  the  con- 
spiracy, for  when  at  last  the  Saint  was  near  the  false 
penitent,  he  cried  from  afar:  "In  the  name  of  God  I 


1  Winter  "Die  Pramonstratenser  ..."  Ch.  I. 

2  Vita  B,  Ch.  XLVI. 

3  Ibidem.    Also  Tenckoff,  p.  12-32. 


Atticus,  the  Leader  of  the  Conspirators         271 

command  you  to  remain  where  you  are  and  not  ap- 
proach your  Archbishop."  The  young  man  appeared 
greatly  astonished,  but  Norbert  without  asking  any  fur- 
ther questions  told  his  attendant  to  take  off  the  man's 
cloak.  Behold  a  large  knife,  which  the  man  was  trying 
to  conceal !  The  Saint  asked  him  why  he  had  come  thus 
armed.  Trembling  and  dazed,  the  wretch  fell  at  once 
on  his  knees  and  began  to  implore  for  mercy,  candidly 
confessing  that  he  had  been  bribed  by  someone  to  take 
Norbert 's  life,  giving  the  names  of  the  instigators  of  the 
whole  plot.4  To  the  great  horror  and  astonishment  of 
all  present,  it  was  then  discovered  that  Atticus,  the 
Archbishop's  archdeacon,  was  the  leader  of  the  con- 
spirators. Like  another  Judas,  he  had  actually  sold  the 
life  of  his  master,  and  an  act  of  religion  and  piety  was 
to  cover  his  crime.  Great  was  the  indignation  of  all 
present,  and  the  name  of  Hazeko  was  repeated  by 
all  as  a  synonym  for  Judas.  Norbert  himself,  however, 
remaining  calm  and  resigned,  said  to  those  around  him : 
' '  Why  are  you  surprised  ?  Must  I  be  more  privileged 
"than  Jesus  Christ,  my  Master,  Who  on  this  very  night 
' '  was  delivered  over  to  His  enemies  by  one  of  his  twelve 
"Apostles?  How  great  would  be  my  happiness  if  on 
"the  day  and  at  the  hour  He  expired  for  us,  I  could 
"die  for  Him  by  the  hands  of  those  whom  I  counted 
"among  my  friends!  The  day  on  which  pardon  was 
"offered  to  sinners,  mercy  to  those  without  hope,  and 
"life  to  the  dead,  that  day  would  truly  be  a  great  day 
"to  die!  By  preventing  my  death  you  have  only  pro- 
" longed  my  trial;  you  have  increased  my  work  and 

4  Vita  B,   Ch.   XL VI.     "Proditionis   hujus   rei   invent!   sunt 
qui  .    .   ." 


272  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

"postponed  my  rest.  Regarding  these  instigators,  they 
"were  my  friends  and  will  remain  my  friends.  Besides, 
"today  is  no  day  for  vengeance,  but  for  mercy.  It  be- 
"  hooves  us  to  imitate  bur  Leader,  Jesus  Christ,  Who  has 
"said:  'Do  good  to  those  who  hate  you;  pray  for  those 
' '  who  persecute  and  calumniate  you. '  And  further :  '  Fa- 
"ther,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do/  "5 

These  words  and  beautiful  sentiments  reveal  clearly 
the  soul  of  the  hero  and  the  saint,  and  justly  might  we 
think  to  find  Norbert's  enemies  at  his  feet  imploring 
his  pardon.  At  least  we  should  expect  to  see  them 
deeply  touched  by  the  Saint's  readiness  to  forgive,  but, 
strange  contradiction !  Norbert  's  great  kindness  produced 
only  the  very  opposite  effect,  and  actually  contributed  to 
harden  the  hearts  of  the  conspirators  and  confirm  them 
in  their  diabolical  design  against  the  life  of  our  Saint. 

A  very  bold  plan  was  now  decided  on,  and  one  of  the 
clerics  of  the  household  of  the  Archbishop  had  taken 
the  execution  upon  himself.  It  was  the  Saint's  custom, 
whenever  he  was  able,  to  go  with  his  Canons  to  the  church 
at  the  silent  hour  of  midnight  to  take  part  in  the  singing 
of  the  Divine  Office.  His  usual  place,  on  account  of 
his  dignity,  was  to  walk  last  in  the  procession.  The  bold 
assassin  knew  this ;  and,  having  hidden  himself  in  one  of 
the  dark  passages,  had  decided  to  stab  the  last  person. 
Amidst  the  tumult  and  consternation  that  would  follow, 
and  aided  by  the  darkness  of  the  midnight  hour,  he 
thought  to  escape  safely. 

Now  on  the  very  night  chosen  it  happened,  for  some 
unexplainable  reason,  that  the  Saint  instead  of  walking 
the  last,  was  in  the  midst  of  his  Canons,  when  they 

5  Ibidem.    "Isti  erant  et  sunt  amici.  .       ." 


Norbert's  Chaplain  is  Stabbed  273 

were  going  into  the  church,  and  thus  the  assassin  stabbed 
the  chaplain  of  the  Archbishop  instead  of  Norbert.  With 
a  loud  cry:  "I  am  killed!"  the  cleric  fell  at  once  to 
the  ground,  and  all  the  brethren,  shocked  and  amazed, 
ran  to  his  assistance.  By  the  sound  of  the  voice  the 
assassin  perceived  his  mistake,  but  ran  away.  The  Can- 
ons pursued  him,  but  Norbert,  grasping  at  once  the  sit- 
uation, and  realizing  that  his  own  life  had  been  threat- 
ened, recalled  them  and  said:  "Let  him  go  in  peace 
"and  let  us  not  render  evil  for  evil.  My  hour  is  not 
"yet  come.  Let  us  wait  till  it  please  the  Lord  to  take 
"me.  Those  who  have  armed  this  man  do  not  rest,  and 
"have  sworn  my  death.  However,  they  will  only  suc- 
"ceed  in  showing  forth  God's  all-guiding  Providence, 
"Who  wants  to  make  use  of  me  to  do  His  work."  6 

This  was  all  the  vengeance  which  Norbert's  charity, 
so  much  stronger  than  the  hatred  of  his  enemies,  al- 
lowed him  to  take.  None  of  the  biographers  mention  a 
single  word  from  which  could  be  inferred  that  the  as- 
sassin had  even  been  pursued  or  punished.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  read  that  Norbert  continued  his  work  with 
the  same  fearlessness,  at  all  times  enforcing  the  laws  of 
the  Church.  However  great  was  his  charity,  his  Courage 
in  the  midst  of  these  trials  is  no  less  remarkable.  Nei- 
ther calumny  nor  violence  could  make  him  forsake  even 
for  a  single  day,  the  duties  of  his  sacred  ministry.  One 
of  Norbert's  sayings,  which  he  never  tired  of  repeat- 
ing, was:  "Calumny  is  the  test  of  a  patient  and 
"generous  heart,  which  bears  with  it  rather  than  give 
"up  working  for  God."  Or  again:  "He  who  has  God 
on  his  side  is  troubled  at  nothing."  And,  relying  on 


«  Vita  B,  Ch.  XLVII. 


274  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

these  principles,  Norbert  fearlessly  continued  excom- 
municating incorrigible  clerics  and  laymen,  and  insist- 
ing on  the  temporal  rights  of  his  Church. 

On  the  13th  of  June,  1129,  we  find  the  Saint  once  more 
at  Goslar,  present  at  the  Diet  where  he  was  occupied 
with  matters  of  Church  and  State.  Here  he  remained 
some  time  and  returned  to  Magdeburg  in  time  to  cele- 
brate the  feast  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul.  During  this 
absence  dark  clouds  of  opposition  had  thickened  and 
gathered,  threatening  a  severe  storm  on  the  least  provo- 
cation. 

As  the  reader  remembers,  the  introduction  of  the  Pre- 
monstratensians  into  St.  Mary's  Chapter  at  Magdeburg 
was  one  of  the  Archbishop's  greatest  crimes,  in  the  eyes 
of  his  enemies.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  presence  of 
these  zealous  men  had  been  a  continual  source  of  re- 
proach to  them,  and  their  constant  good  example  had 
reminded  them  of  their  own  duty  in  a  more  convincing 
and  powerful  manner  than  even  the  words  of  Norbert. 
Again  we  may  rightly  suppose  that  Norbert  naturally 
favored  these  brethren  since  they  were  truly  apostolic 
men,  who  worked  day  and  night  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  salvation  of  souls.  This  had  caused  feelings  of 
jealousy.  Furthermore,  the  marked  preference  of  Nor- 
bert for  his  confreres  had  not  only  irritated  the  clerics 
but  had  given  rise  to  a  rumor  that  the  Archbishop  was 
but  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  introduce  his  sons  into 
the  Cathedral.  This  suspicion  they  thought  confirmed 
when  Norbert  upon  his  return  from  Goslar,  announced 
that,  since  the  Cathedral  during  his  absence  had  been 
desecrated,  it  was  going  to  be  reconsecrated. 

Madelaine  observes  that  neither  the  two  early  biogra- 
phers nor  the  chroniclers  of  Magdeburg  designate  the 


Objections  to  the  Reconsecration  275 

crime  by  which  it  was  desecrated.  However,  the  fact 
of  the  desecration  is  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  for  it 
is  mentioned  by  all  historians.  It  seems  as  if,  through  a 
feeling  of  shame,  they  did  not  want  to  specify  the  nature 
of  the  crime  by  which  the  house  of  God  had  been  pro- 
faned. At  any  rate,  the  Archbishop  was  bound  by  the 
laws  of  the  Church  to  purify  the  temple,  and  so  he  made 
his  intention  known  to  the  assembled  Chapter.7 

At  this  meeting  some  of  the  Canons,  instigated  by  the 
archdeacon  Atticus,  objected.  They  would  not  hear  of 
having  the  ceremony  performed ;  unless,  first,  they  knew 
the  names  of  the  guilty  parties ;  and,  secondly,  the  name 
of  him  who  had  made  the  Archbishop  acquainted  with 
the  fact.  This  condition  the  Saint  boldly  refused  to 
comply  with,  adding  that  he  would  not  celebrate  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  in  the  Cathedral  as  long  as  it  remained  in 
its  state  of  profanation.  Meanwhile,  Atticus  and  his 
friends  had  spread  the  rumor  among  the  people  that  the 
profanation  of  the  Cathedral  could  not  be  proved,  and 
that  the  Archbishop  had  some  other  object  in  view  in 
this  reconsecration.  They  wanted  to  submit  the  case 
to  a  synod  before  which  the  guilty  party  was  to  be  cited 
to  prove  the  crime.  This  opposition,  says  Dr.  Winter, 
is  unexplainable,  if  the  canons  had  not  thought  to  see 
another  intention  in  this  reconsecration ;  that  is,  a  formal 
transfer  of  the  Cathedral  to  the  Premonstratensians. 
Atticus  further  insinuated  to  the  people  that  Norbert's 


7Cfr.  Madelaine,  p.  394,  who  further  quotes  Vita  B,  Ch. 
XLIX:  "Quoddam  infortunium"  .  .  Vita  A,  Ch.  XIX,  "Con- 
tigit  in  ecclesia  major!  rerum  quippiam."  Chron.  Magdeb. 
No.  6.  Nefando  crimine  violata-Cfr.,  also  Acta  SS.  T.  XX. 
p.  52. 


276  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

object  was  to  take  away  from  the  Cathedral  the  precious 
relics  and  give  them  to  Premonstratensian  churches.8 

But  when  there  was  question  of  God's  honor,  Norbert 
was  not  the  man  to  fear  opposition.  From  the  pulpit  of 
the  Cathedral  he  therefore  announced  to  the  people  of 
Magdeburg  his  firm  intention  of  reconsecrating  the 
Cathedral  and  explained  the  reasons  that  forced  him  to 
perform  this  ceremony  commanded  by  the  laws  of  the 
Church.  But  the  poor  people,  deluded  by  Atticus  and 
his  followers,  shouted  their  disapproval.  This  happened 
on  the  feastday  of  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul.  Since  the  Arch- 
bishop had  failed  to  celebrate  on  this  great  day  solemnly 
in  the  Cathedral,  as  was  his  wont,  the  people  were  an- 
gered and  excited.  Atticus  tried  by  different  means  to 
goad  the  anger  of  the  people,  and  he  fairly  shouted  out 
to  them  that  the  only  cause  of  this  great  disturbance  were 
Norbert  and  his  new  Canons.  The  next  day  was  a  Sun- 
day. No  Mass  on  that  day  in  the  Cathedral  might  have 
serious  consequences,  reasoned  the  Saint.  Consequently, 
Norbert  took  counsel  with  his  suffragan  bishops,  for 
unless  the  Church  were  reconsecrated  the  archbishop 
would  not  allow  the  Holy  Sacrifice  to  be  celebrated.  The 
result  was  that  the  Saint  resolved  to  perform  the  cere- 
mony privately,  and  purify  the  Cathedral  during  the 
stillness  of  the  night. 

Anselm,  Bishop  of  Havelberg;  Godebold,  Bishop  of 
Meissen;  Provost  Frederic,  some  of  the  good  canons  of 
the  Cathedral  and  a  few  of  Norbert 's  brethren  entered 
the  church  during  the  night  of  the  29-30th  of  June,  to 
assist  their  Archbishop  in  the  sacred  function.9  Attired 


Cfr.  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  258. 
Chron.  Magd.  (Acta  SS,  T.  XX.) 


The  Cathedral  Surrounded  by  an  Excited  Mob   277 

in  their  pontifical  vestments,  these  holy  prelates  were 
performing  the  sacred  ceremonies  in  the  stillness  of  the 
night,  when  all  of  a  sudden  wild  cries  rend  the  air,  the 
doors  are  being  battered  down,  and  all  the  people  are 
gathered  around  the  church,  shouting  for  the  life  of 
Norbert.  The  reader,  no  doubt,  fully  understands  what 
has  happened. 

As  soon  as  the  Saint  and  his  assistants  had  begun 
the  ceremony,  Atticus  and  his  satellites  had  roused  the 
inhabitants  and  spread  the  rumor  that  Norbert  and  his 
Frenchmen  had  taken  possession  of  the  Cathedral.  They 
further  added  that  now  they  were  breaking  down  the 
altars,  ransacking  the  shrines,  and  that  they  intended 
to  remove  all  the  treasures  they  could  lay  hands  on,  es- 
pecially the  relics.10  They  of  course  knew  that  at  this 
time  nothing  would  irritate  the  poor  deluded  people 
more  than  the  danger  of  losing  their  precious  relics. 
Neither  were  they  in  this  mistaken.  The  rage  of  the 
people  knew  no  bounds.  Besides,  to  add  to  the  great 
excitement  and  the  general  commotion,  Atticus  ordered 
someone  to  ring  the  big  bell  of  the  Cathedral,  and  in  a 
moment's  time  a  most  excited  and  turbulent  mob  sur- 
rounded the  church,  shouting:  "Our  relics  are  being 
stolen ! ' '  Though  these  wild  cries  frightened  those  who 
were  assisting  the  Archbishop,  Norbert  remained  calm 
and  without  any  sign  of  fear.  He  advanced  towards  the 
door  and  would  have  gone  out  to  the  crowd  in  order  to 
pacify  the  excited  people  if  he  had  not  been  prevented 


10  Madelaine,  on  p.  395,  enumerates  different  contemporary 
writers  who  all  agree  in  stating  that  the  people  were  actually 
misled  by  this  ridiculous  calumny.  He  moreover  quotes  Vita 
B,  Ch.  XLIX,  where  it  says,  Quod  fregisset  episcopus  altaria 
.  .  .  cum  omni  etiam  thesauro  ecclesiae  fugere  disposuisset. 


278  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

by  the  assisting  bishops  and  priests.  The  latter  forced 
the  Saint  to  go  with  them  and  seek  a  place  of  safety  in 
the  old  tower  built,  in  the  time  of  Otto  I,  like  a  great 
fortress.11 

Here  the  bishops  and  the  canons,  all  still  wearing  their 
sacred  vestments,  sang  at  this  midnight  hour  the  Matins 
of  St.  Paul,  whose  feast  was  being  celebrated  on  that 
day.  Thus  the  Saint  in  company  with  his  friends  passed 
that  memorable  night,  a  prisoner  in  his  own  cathedral. 
How  appropriate  under  these  circumstances  must  have 
been  the  Office  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles !  The  biog- 
rapher says  that  the  Saint  and  his  companions  found 
abundant  strength  in  the  recital  of  this  particular  Office, 
since  by  it  they  were  most  vividly  reminded  of  the  many 
times  that  St.  Paul  himself  had  been  made  a  prisoner 
for  having  upheld  the  cause  of  his  Divine  Master. 

Truly  a  most  admirable  contrast  which  has  not  es- 
caped the  different  biographers:  In  the  street,  wild 
shouts  and  cries  are  rending  the  air — a  maddened  mob 
is  clamoring  for  the  life  of  their  archbishop ;  high  in  the 
tower,  solemn  and  grave  voices  are  chanting  the  praises 
of  the  Lord,  and  celebrating  the  heroic  virtues  of  the 
great  Apostle !  Strengthening  and  consoling  one  another, 
these  saintly  men  thus  awaited  the  end  of  the  tumult. 
Yet  a  few  of  them  murmured  and  lost  courage,  saying: 
"Why  did  we  follow  this  man?  "We  are  going  to  perish 
with  him."  But  like  the  great  Apostle,  Norbert  also 
tried  to  console  them  and  spoke  to  them  words  of  cour- 
age and  Christian  resignation.  "My  dearest  brethren," 
he  said,  "fear  not;  it  is  for  God's  cause  that  we  suffer. 
"That  which  is  happening  now  is  permitted  by  His 

11  Vita  A,  Ch.  XIX,  also^Chron.  Magdeb.  No.  6. 


Norbert  Encourages  His  Companions  279 

"Providence.  When  a  good  work  is  opposed  by  an 
"enemy,  it  is  God  Who  permits  him  to  oppose  it.  Take 
"courage  and  trust  in  God."  Norbert  continued  thus 
to  exhort  them  the  more  touchingly,  and  prayed  the 
more  fervently  as  some  showed  signs  of  failing.  As  the 
Saint  himself  afterwards  remarked,  he  was  less  afraid 
of  death  for  himself,  than  he  was  troubled  at  the  thought 
that  some  might  lose  heart  and  fail. 

The  captivity  lasted  from  midnight  until  late  in  the 
day,  while  the  hostile  crowd  was  swelling  continually 
and  shouting  wildly.  When  some,  says  the  biographer, 
heard  the  Saint's  voice  chanting  the  Divine  praises 
louder  than  the  others,  it  seems  as  if  Satan  actually  took 
possession  of  the  mob.  Cries  were  heard  for  the  Arch- 
bishop 's  life.  ' '  Kill  him, ' '  they  shouted ;  "  die  he  must ! ' ' 
Truly  a  vivid  picture  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Savior 
Himself  had  been  condemned ;  and  the  poor  people,  like 
the  Jews  of  old,  were  made  the  tools  of  unscrupulous 
leaders.  At  last,  when  the  day  was  far  advanced,  some 
succeeded  in  scaling  the  tower,  and  forced  an  entrance 
to  where  the  Saint  and  his  companions  were.  Like  a 
furious  mob,  so  entirely  unlike  their  real  selves,  they 
rushed  into  the  place  with  drawn  swords,  shouting  for 
Norbert 's  blood.  However,  the  Saint  had  no  sooner 
seen  them  enter  than  he  advanced  to  meet  them.  "You 
seek  but  one  person, "  he  said;  "behold,  here  I  am. 
"Spare  those  who  are  with  me  for  they  do  not  deserve 
"death."12  And,  marvelous  to  relate,  when  Norbert, 
who  still  wore  his  pontifical  vestments,  pronounced  these 
words  with  that  perfect  calm  and  dignity  worthy  of  an 
Archbishop,  the  invaders  stood  as  if  nailed  to  the  ground. 

12  Vita  A,  Ch.  XIX. 


280  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

The  next  instant  one  simple  look  of  their  fearless  Arch- 
bishop threw  them  down  on  their  knees;  overwhelmed 
with  fear  and  trembling,  they  begged  his  pardon.  What 
is  more,  the  sight  of  their  saintly  Archbishop  had  so 
completely  changed  them  that  these  very  men  protected 
Norbert  against  the  attacks  of  other  assailants,  who  by 
this  time  were  entering  the  place,  and  so  from  being  his 
greatest  enemies  they  at  once  became  his  actual  pro- 
tectors. 

Norberto  insidians  latro,  sed  proditus,  Ipsum 
Patronum  causae  gaudet  habere  suae. 

While  these  things  were  taking  place  within  the  tower, 
a  number  of  those  without,  thinking  that  by  this  time 
the  Archbishop  had  been  killed,  now  rushed  into  the 
room  to  finish  their  diabolical  plot,  and  it  happened  that 
at  this  mloment  one  of  Norbert 's  servants  was  struck ;  he 
fell  to  the  ground  mortally  wounded.  The  Saint,  seeing 
this,  hastened  at  once  to  the  side  of  his  dying  servant, 
and  when  some  of  his  friends  wanted  to  restrain  him  he 
said:  "No;  it  will  never  be  said  that  one  of  mine  has 
fallen  while  I  was  still  alive. "  The  man  who  had  struck 
the  servant  now  seeing  the  Archbishop  alive  before  him, 
became  mad  with  rage,  raised  his  blooddripping  sword 
and  struck  Norbert  on  the  shoulder.  The  sword,  how- 
ever, rebounded  and  did  not  inflict  a  wound.  But  as 
the  sword  was  still  wet  with  blood,  some  fell  on  Nor- 
bert 7s  mitre,  and  this  blood  stain  remained  thereon  until 
his  death. 

Meanwhile  the  Archbishop's  clerical  enemies  had 
come  together  in  the  Cathedral  and  deliberated  among 
themselves  as  to  how  to  exploit  the  present  riot  to  their 
advantage.  To  take  away  all  suspicion  from  themselves, 


Norbert  Fearlessly  Withstands  His  Enemies     281 

they  now  took  the  relics,  which  they  found,  of  course, 
intact,  and  went  out  to  show  them  to  the  people.  They 
tried  to  calm  the  multitude,  saying  how  shameful  it  was 
for  the  flock  to  attack  their  pastor.  But  they  did  this 
not  without  a  reason.  For  after  causing  the  disturbance, 
these  leaders  now  came  out  feigning  to  be  adverse  to  the 
use  of  any  violent  means,  and  even  showed  a  false  sym- 
pathy for  their  persecuted  Archbishop.  What,  then, 
was  their  object? 

They  spoke  to  the  people  of  the  greatness  of  their  Arch- 
bishop, and  at  the  same  time  tried  to  make  Norbert  and  his 
people  believe  that  it  was  not  his  person  that  had  caused 
the  riot,  but  the  presence  of  these  Frenchmen  in  the  city. 
They  further  urged  Norbert  in  the  presence  of  this 
large  concourse  of  people  to  promise  on  the  relics  of  the 
Saints  that  he  would  at  once  remove  his  religious  from 
the  Chapter  of  St.  Mary.  The  Saint,  hearing  this  re- 
quest, became  indignant ;  and,  though  he  was  apparently 
surrounded  by  his  bitterest  enemies,  and  actually  in 
danger  of  being  killed,  he  answered  frankly  that  he  did 
not  think  it  just  or  right  to  "buy  the  peace  of  man  by 
destroying  the  work  of  God."  His  brethren  had  been 
placed  in  charge  of  St.  Mary's  for  the  welfare  of  re- 
ligion, with  the  full  consent  of  both  the  Pope  and  the 
King,  and  therefore  he  not  only  declined  to  remove  them 
now,  but  declared  that  he  would  never  remove  them.13 

In  the  meantime  Henry,  the  head  magistrate  of 
Magdeburg,  who  had  been  absent  from  the  city,  had  re- 
turned ;  and,  hearing  what  had  occurred,  came  hurriedly 
upon  the  scene  and  ordered  the  crowd  to  disperse  peace- 
fully. He  added  that  whatever  grievances  they  had, 

is  Vita  B,  Ch.  XLIX.    Vita  A,  Ch.  XIX. 


282  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

they  were  at  liberty  to  come  to  make  them  known  to 
him.  The  coming  of  the  magistrate  at  this  particular 
moment  may  well  be  regarded  as  truly  providential.  Had 
it  not  been  for  his  'timely  arrival,  the  Saint's  positive 
refusal  to  dismiss  his  canons  from  the  city  would  un- 
doubtedly have  caused  a  new  outbreak.  However,  as  it 
was,  calm  was  restored.14 

Norbert  returned  with  his  colleagues  to  the  Cathedral, 
and,  full  of  joy,  celebrated  a  Mass  of  Thanksgiving  to  God 
for  His  protection.  Before  beginning  the  Holy  Sacri- 
fice, he  thus  addressed  from  the  foot  of  the  altar  those 
present:  " Behold  what  I  have  been  falsely  accused 
"of  having  broken  and  removed!  they  are  still  here 
"whole  and  entire  in  the  same  place  where  they  were 
"before.  Judge  for  yourselves  if  I  am  guilty  of  the 
"sacrilege  of  which  they  have  accused  me."  He  then 
began  his  Mass,  and  was  obliged  to  read  the  Epistle  and 
the  Gospel  himself,  because  his  ministers — thus  we  read 
in  the  Chronicles — had  retired,  being  fatigued  and  still 
very  much  frightened.  When  the  Mass  was  over  Norbert 
returned  to  his  palace,  rejoicing  that  he  had  been  found 
worthy  to  suffer  for  the  sake  of  justice,  and  that  God 
had  visibly  protected  him  in  his  tribulations.15 

i*  Acta  SS.  T.  XX.    Chronic.  Magdeb.  No.  6. 
is  Vita  A,  Ch.  XIX. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
DRIVEN   FROM   HIS  SEE. 

Coelitus  illaesus,  stricto  licet  ense  petitus. 
Pectora  dat  propria,  non  violanda,  Gregi. 

They  exiled  thee;  vainly  their  darts  were  flung 
Around  thy  tranquil  soul.    .    .     . 

One  would  be  justified  in  thinking  that  after  the 
storm  described  in  the  last  chapter,  the  sky  would  have 
cleared  for  at  least  some  time.  Alas !  the  biographer  in- 
forms us  that  on  the  very  next  day  new  attacks  on  the 
life  of  the  Archbishop  were  planned.  Complaining  that 
they  had  been  deluded,  and  saying  that  Norbert  had  es- 
caped them  by  some  secret  magical  power,  his  enemies 
thought  of  more  effective  means  to  rid  themselves  of  the 
"reformer."  Deep  down  in  their  hearts  they  fully 
realized  that  the  Saint's  uprightness  and  strength  of 
character  had  caused  the  ill  success  of  their  plan,  but 
this  very  thought  embittered  them  all  the  more.  As  a 
consequence  of  all  that  had  occurred,  they  could  not 
deny  that  the  Archbishop  had  gained  instead  of  lost  in 
the  estimation  of  the  people.  However,  one  of  the  qual- 
ities of  hatred  is  a  certain  tenacity  with  which  it  pur- 
sues its  evil  designs.  Regardless  of  consequences,  hatred 
strives  hard  in  pursuit  of  its  victim. 

Norbert 's  enemies  thus  met  on  the  very  next  day  in 
secret.  Incredible  as  it  may  seem  to  us,  these  men  de- 
termined to  do  away  with  Norbert  at  all  costs,  resolv- 
ing on  the  following  plan,  truly  diabolical  in  its  very 
conception.  The  day  before  the  awful  murder  was  to 

283 


284  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

be  committed,  all  bound  themselves  to  take  a  large  quan- 
tity of  intoxicating  drink  in  order  to  have  the  murder 
attributed  to  the  effects  of  drunkenness.  Furthermore,  it 
was  agreed  that  any1  one  of  them  who  should  break  this 
agreement  was  to  have  his  property  confiscated.1 

Accidentally  the  plan  came  to  the  ears  of  some  of 
Norbert's  friends.  These  at  once  went  to  the  Saint  to 
warn  him  of  the  new  danger  that  threatened  his  life, 
and  to  urge  him  to  leave  the  city  for  some  time.  But  the 
Saint  sternly  refused.  First  of  all  he  could  not  believe 
how  a  man  could  be  capable  of  doing  such  a  foul  act; 
and,  secondly,  if  things  actually  proved  to  be  thus,  the 
Saint  told  them  that  he  joyfully  anticipated  the  hour 
when  he  should  receive  the  crown  of  martyrdom  in  the 
episcopal  city.  He  continued  to  perform  undisturbed 
his  daily  duties  and  tried  to  enforce  the  laws  of  reform, 
seemingly  unaware  of  any  plot  against  his  life. 

Finally  came  the  day  agreed  upon  by  the  conspirators. 
As  if  acting  upon  a  given  signal,  an  excited  crowd 
rushed  into  the  streets  of  Magdeburg  with  wild  cries  and 
shouts,  more  in  the  manner  of  savages  than  Christian 
people,  and  made  their  way  towards  the  Provostry  of 
St.  Mary,  where  they  knew  they  would  find  Norbert  at 
that  hour.  The  magistrates,  however,  having  undoubt- 
edly been  forewarned,  were  awaiting  them,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  quelling  the  first  riot.  The  crowd  was  driven 
back,  but  alas!  only  to  return  immediately  with  re- 
enforcements,  so  that  the  magistrates  were  unable  to 
keep  the  people  in  check.  As  on  the  former  occasion, 

i  Vita  B,  Ch.  Is— Vita  A,  Ch.  XIX.  "De  ebrietate  Partheno- 
politanorum."  Both  biographies  give  all  the  details  of  this 
diabolical  plan. 


Norbert  Flees  from  Magdeburg  285 

savage  cries  were  heard:  "Death  to  Norbert!" — "Kill 
him!" 

While  this  wild  crowd  was  trying  to  gain  entrance  into 
the  Provostry,  the  Saint  was  quietly  occupied,  and  upon 
hearing  the  great  noise  inquired  what  it  meant.  He 
was  then  told  that  the  worst  had  come  to  pass,  and  that 
outside  the  monastery  there  was  a  large  crowd  looking 
for  his  life,  and  fully  determined  to  drive  the  religious 
away  from  the  monastery.  When  this  was  told  to  Nor- 
bert, the  Saint  answered  smilingly:  "They  will  never 
"succeed,  for  that  which  has  been  planted  by  the  hand 
' '  of  God  cannot  be  destroyed  by  the  hand  of  man. ' '  Full 
of  confidence  in  God's  Providence,  he  wished  quietly  to 
continue  the  work  in  v/hich  at  the  moment  he  was  en- 
gaged, but  the  magistrates  themselves  and  all  Norbert 's 
friends  and  children  begged  him  to  spare  himself  for 
the  welfare  of  his  diocese  and  his  Order.  At  last  the  Saint 
consented,  and,  truly  sad  at  heart,  fled  from  Magdeburg. 
When  he  saw  the  furious  mob  assembled  before  the 
gates  of  the  Provostry,  he  shed  tears  of  compassion  for 
his  poor  deluded  people,  and  offered  a  short  but  fervent 
prayer  to  ask  the  Holy  Spirit  to  guide  him  in  the  direc- 
tion of  these  precious  but  misguided  souls. 

He  first  came  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
the  Benedictine  abbey  at  Bergen,  where  he  was  most 
cordially  received  by  his  friend,  Abbot  Arnold.  How- 
ever, he  did  not  remain  here  very  long.  After  making 
arrangements  in  regard  to  the  most  pressing  matters 
concerning  the  administration  of  his  diocese  under  pres- 
ent conditions,  he  did  not  want  to  expose  the  religious 
of  Bergen  to  the  attacks  of  an  excited  populace,  and  de- 
parted from  here  for  his  episcopal  castle  of  Geveken- 
stein,  near  Halle.  In  this  place  the  poor  Archbishop  had 


286  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

thought  to  retire  and  find  at  least  a  few  days  of  rest 
and  solitude,  in  which  he  could  ask  God  for  strength, 
and  find  consolation  in  prayer.  However,  his  enemies 
had  foreseen  this  plan,  so  well  did  they  know  the  Saint, 
and  thus  before  he  arrived  the  whole  place  had  been  sur- 
rounded by  his  enemies.  How  bitter  and  hard  it  must 
have  been  for  the  saintly  Archbishop  to  find  himself 
thus  treated  by  his  own  children.  But  Norbert,  like  the 
royal  Prophet,  who  while  being  hunted  down  by  his  un- 
natural son  Absalom,  suffered  the  persecution  with  meek- 
ness, went  from  the  castle  to  the  Augustinian  monas- 
tery of  Petersberg,  situated  on  a  high  mountain.2  Here 
the  Saint  was  received  with  due  respect  and  honor  by 
the  Provost,  who  was  most  happy  to  assist  his  exiled 
Archbishop. 

The  Saint's  next  act  was  to  take  counsel  with  his 
friends  in  regard  to  the  best  way  of  proceeding  under 
the  circumstances.  Many  hours  did  he  spend  here  before 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  at  the  feet  of  the  Master  asking 
for  guidance  from  on  high.  But  his  negotiations  to  re- 
store order  by  peaceful  means  to  the  people  of  Magde- 
burg were  all  in  vain.  At  last  then  his  resolution  was 
taken,  and  from  his  place  of  retreat  the  Archbishop  pro- 
nounced the  excommunication  over  all  those  who  should 
persevere  in  their  opposition  to  his  episcopal  authority. 
Truly  may  we  believe  that  the  Saint  had  been  forced  to 
take  this  extreme  measure,  and  only  adopted  it  when 
all  other  means,  inspired  by  kindness  and  goodness,  had 
been  exhausted.  As  the  biographer  observes,  Norbert 's 

2  Hugo  "Vie  de  saint  Norbert,"  p.  296.  According  to  Win- 
ter, p.  42,  and  Herstel,  p.  81,  Norbert  went  to  the  monastery 
of  Neuwerk. 


The  Archbishop  in  Exile  287 

fatherly  admonitions  had  only  added  fuel  to  the  burn- 
ing rage  of  his  enemies,  and  thus  had  it  become  neces- 
sary to  try  to  win  by  severity  what  could  not  be  won 
by  kindness. 

Having  pronounced  the  excommunication,  the  Saint's 
heart  seemed  at  rest ;  and  finding  another  ' '  Premontre ' ' 
in  the  monastery  of  these  Augustinians,  considered  his 
exile  a  real  blessing.  "  Being  used  to  the  daily  exercises 
' '  of  the  monastic  life, ' '  says  Hugo,  ' '  he  was  most  happy 
"to  be  able  to  join  his  voice  in  choir  with  those  of  his 
"hospitable  friends,  and  he  distinguished  himself  from 
"the  other  monks  only  by  the  severity  of  his  penance 
"and  his  piety. "  How  fervently  must  the  Saint  have 
prayed  during  these  days  especially,  and  asked  God's 
pardon  for  the  sins  of  his  people.  Like  another  St.  Paul, 
he  offered  himself  to  God  for  their  salvation.  And  see ! 
the  All-Good  Father  graciously  heard  his  prayer  and 
caused  a  sincere  repentance  among  the  people  of  Magde- 
burg. 

With  Norbert's  excommunication  it  seemed  as  though 
a  curse  had  fallen  upon  the  city.  Sober  reasoning  had 
by  this  time  replaced  their  wild  passion,  and  the  people 
now  felt  a  great  loss  in  the  absence  of  their  Archbishop. 
They  sincerely  regretted  their  hasty  actions  and,  won- 
derful to  relate,  this  time,  even  the  instigators  them- 
selves admitted  their  guilt  and  were  deeply  ashamed  of 
their  diabolical  deeds.  Once  the  people  realized  how 
strangely  they  had  allowed  themselves  to  be  misled, 
they  called  a  public  meeting  in  the  center  of  the  city, 
and  here  resolved  to  send  some  of  the  most  prominent 
citizens  as  their  deputies  to  the  abbey  of  Petersberg  to 
entreat  the  Archbishop  to  forgive  them  and  to  return  to 
his  flock. 


288  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

We  can  easily  imagine  how  great  Norbert 's  joy  must 
have  been  at  this  happy  turn  of  affairs.  The  good  Arch- 
bishop received  the  deputies  with  the  love  of  a  father, 
who  after  a  long  separation,  sees  his  beloved  children 
once  more.  He  most  gladly  forgave  them  all.  And  when 
they  further  offered  him  a  sum  of  money  as  a  compensa- 
tion for  all  he  had  suffered,  Norbert  sternly  refused,  say- 
ing that  his  only  compensation  would  be  their  sincere  re- 
pentance.3 However,  in  regard  to  his  poor  servant  who 
had  been  wounded  during  the  first  riot,  and  whose  house 
had  been  pillaged  and  pulled  down,  for  him  Norbert  in- 
sisted on  full  reparation  for  all  the  loss  and  injuries  this 
poor  man  had  suffered.  Norbert  then  withdrew  the  ex- 
communication which  for  six  weeks  had  rested  upon  the 
city.4 

The  deputies  gladly  promised  to  make  the  restitution 
Norbert  desired,  and  hastened  back  to  Magdeburg  where 
their  message  caused  general  rejoicing.  They  at  once 
gave  orders  to  have  the  house  of  the  wounded  servant 
rebuilt,  and  further  gave  him  forty  silver  marks  in  rep- 
aration for  what  he  had  suffered. 

To  try  their  fidelity  and  sincerity,  Norbert  postponed 
his  return  for  two  more  weeks.  When  the  people  heard 
this,  they  at  first  were  disappointed ;  soon,  however,  they 
came  together  and  discussed  plans  suitable  to  make  due 
reparation  to  their  good  Archbishop  for  all  the  injuries 
he  had  endured.  The  whole  city  now  was  anxious  to 
make  amends,  and  thus  it  was  decided  by  all  to  go  to 

3  Vita  B.,  L.  Plus  animas  Deo  quaerere  venerat  quam  pe- 
cunias.  .  .  . 

*Acta  SS.  T.  XX.  Chron.  Magdeb.     Post  sex  hebdomadas 
.  absolvit. 


Nor~bert  is  Escorted  Back  in  Triumph  289 

meet  Norbert  and  lead  him  in  triumph  back  to  the  city, 
whence  only  a  few  weeks  before  he  had  been  forced  to 
flee  as  an  exile. 

According  to  Madelaine,5  they  first  escorted  him  to  the 
episcopal  castle  at  Gevekenstein  where  Norbert  had  been 
refused  admittance  shortly  before,  and  from  thence  they 
brought  him  to  Magdeburg.  It  was  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  month  of  October  when  Norbert  was  led  in  triumph 
back  into  the  city  amidst  universal  rejoicings.  He  was 
surrounded  by  nobles,  and  thousands  of  people  pro- 
claimed him  as  their  great  and  saintly  Archbishop.6  Al- 
though but  few  particulars  of  this  grand  reception  have 
come  down  to  us,  Norbert 's  address  on  this  memorable 
occasion  has  happily  been  preserved  by  history.  Upon 
his  arrival  the  Saint  at  once  entered  the  Cathedral, 
which  was  but  a  few  weeks  before  the  scene  of  so  many 
indignities;  and  when  Norbert  saw  himself  followed  by 
his  people,  he  mounted  the  pulpit  and  spoke : 

"My  dear  brethren,  it  was  with  great  sadness  that  I 
"left  you,  but  through  the  mercy  of  God  it  is  with  ex- 
"ceedingly  great  joy  that  I  return  and  appear  in  the 
"midst  of  you.  The  enemy  of  peace  who  finds  his  de- 
" light  in  sowing  discord  and  hatred  in  the  world,  has 
"been  the  cause  of  this  cruel  separation.  Having  laid 
"the  foundation  of  his  empire  by  division,  this  obstinate 
"hater  tries  to  perpetuate  it  by  discord,  in  order  that 
"by  separating  the  flock  from  its  pastor,  the  sheep  may 
"wander  at  the  voice  of  a  mercenary,  and  be  thrown 
"into  the  abyss.  Such  have  always  been  the  tactics  of 
"this  eternal  enemy  of  souls;  such  also  is  the  source  of 

s  Madelaine  o.  c.  p.  402. 
e  Vita  B,  Ch.  LI. 


290  History  of  Saint  Norbert. 

"the  misunderstanding  now  so  happily  ended.  Jealous 
1 '  of  the  unity  between  us,  Satan  has  been  the  cause  of  this 
"division,  by  which  he  has  tried  to  overthrow  the  good 
"understanding  between  the  pastor  and  his  people,  and 
"to  destroy  that  peace  which  is  as  necessary  for  the 
"common  happiness  of  the  public  as  it  is  for  the  sal- 
"vation  of  the  flock  and  the  ministry  of  the  pastor.  Al- 
"most  overcome  by  the  tempest,  I  could  not  calm  it  by 
"my  prayers,  so  I  was  obliged  to  turn  away  from  it 
"to  go  elsewhere.  But,  thanks  be  to  God!  Jesus 
"Christ,  "Who  seemed  asleep  when  the  tempest  was  rag- 
* '  ing,  has  now  granted  our  prayers.  He  has  commanded 
"the  winds  and  the  sea,  and  there  is  again  a  great  calm. 
"The  peace  which  the  evil  spirit  had  taken  away  from 
"us  has  been  restored  by  the  God  of  peace. 

"My  dear  brethren,  have  an  ardent  love  for  this  peace ; 
"seek  it  incessantly  and  guard  it  diligently.  Let  our 
"hearts  remain  united  in  the  bonds  of  charity.  As  we 
"read  of  the  first  Christians,  let  there  be  but  one  heart 
"and  one  soul  amongst  us,  and  let  us  work  together 
"in  the  union  of  this  charity.  Fear  not,  my  dear  chil- 
"dren,  that  what  you  have  done  has  ill  disposed  your 
"pastor  toward  you.  It  is  true,  you  have  wronged  not 
"me,  but  that  sublime  priestly  character  with  which 
"God  has  honored  me,  but  I  hope  from  the  mercy  of 
"Him  who  knows  how  to  pardon  that  your  tears  of  sor- 
"row  have  already  effaced  the  fault  you  have  commit- 
"ted. 

"Let  us  therefore  now  pray  to  the  Father  of  mercies 
"and  the  God  of  all  consolation  to  preserve  this  peace 
"amongst  us,  which  though  we  have  not  merited,  we 
"intend  to  merit  from  now  on.  Let  us  endeavor  by  our 
"good  works  to  make  reparation  for  our  sins.  Let  us 


The  People  Shed  Tears  of  Sorrow  291 

"insure  our  calling  in  order  that  God  may  be  glorified 
"by  us  all  forever  and  ever.    Amen. ' ' r 

This  forgiving  and  touching  address  of  the  Arch- 
bishop on  this  memorable  occasion  caused  many  tears  to 
flow.  More  than  ever  did  the  people  realize  what  a  holy 
and  zealous  Archbishop  they  had  in  Norbert,  and  from 
that  day  they  became  so  firmly  attached  to  him  that  no 
calumnies,  whatever  their  source,  could  separate  again 
the  flock  from  its  pastor.  Thus  was  the  word  of  the 
Apostle  verified  that ' '  all  things  work  to  the  good  of  those 
who  love  God."  And  when  the  Saint  solemnly  intoned 
the  "Te  Deum,"  observes  Dr.  Winter,  he  not  only  cel- 
ebrated his  own  victory,  but  also  the  victory  of  the 
brethren  of  St.  Mary's.  Since  their  coming  to  Magde- 
burg they  had  been  calumniated  and  persecuted;  they 
had  come  with  the  approbation  of  the  Pope  and  the 
King,  but  until  now,  their  foundation  had  not  been 
canonically  confirmed  by  the  Archbishop.  This  event, 
however,  truly  crowned  Norbert 's  successful  undertak- 
ings.8 

From  the  very  day  of  Norbert 's  return  to  his  epis- 
copal city,  no  people  could  show  themselves  more  sub- 
missive than  his.  And  the  early  biographer  relates  that 


7  Hugo,  "Vie  de  Saint  Norbert,"  p.  299.  Hugo  has  taken  this 
discourse  from  a  MSS.  containing  fragments  of  the  life  of 
St.  Norbert. 

s  Cfr.  Winter,  o.  c.,  Ch.  I.  Madelaine  observes,  on  p.  404,  that 
all  the  early  MSS.  agree  as  to  the  year  in  which  these  events 
occurred,  being  the  third  year  of  Norbert's  episcopate.  Only 
[Vander  Sterre  says  that  it  occurred  in  the  fifth  year;  and  the 
Bollandists,  following  his  opinion,  describe  the  above  re- 
lated scene  as  having  taken  place  after  the  Council  of  Rheims 
(1131).  This,  for  different  reasons,  seems  very  improbable. 


292  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

from  that  day  on,  Norbert  was  most  successfully  engaged 
in  the  work  of  the  sacred  ministry.  He  then  continues 
that  Norbert  was  an  angel  at  the  altar,  a  true  father  in 
the  confessional,  another  St.  John  the  Baptist  in  his 
daily  life.  A  true  apostle  of  peace,  his  great  aim  was  to 
establish  peace  between  man  and  God,  as  well  as  between 
man  and  his  neighbor.  He  was  severe  on  heretics  and 
schismatics,  in  fact,  on  all  those  who  sought  to  disturb 
the  peace  of  the  Church.  He  was  a  father  to  the  orphan 
and  he  comforted  the  heart  of  the  widow.  In  a  word,  Nor- 
bert "broke  the  jaws  of  the  wicked  man,  (oppressors 
"of  orphans  and  widows)  and  plucked  the  spoil  out  of 
"his  teeth."  (Job  XXIX.)  He  was  always  cheerful  and 
most  affable  to  all  alike.  Assiduous  in  upholding  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Church,  he  was  a  no  less  zealous  advocate  of 
her  discipline.  For  this  reason  he  made  his  regular  visita- 
tions in  his  diocese,  reforming  abuses  wherever  he  found 
them,  without  respect  for  persons.  A  holy  and  zealous 
priest,  he  was  also  the  pattern  of  bishops.9 

During  this  period  of  successful  administration  of  the 
_diocese,  the  Saint  by  no  means  neglected  to  look  after 
the  welfare  of  his  Order,  and  several  new  foundations 
were  made  at  this  time.  There  was  a  monastery  at 
Poelde,  in  the  Duchy  of  Gruebenhagen,  morally  and 
financially  in  a  pitiful  condition.  Norbert  introduced 
there  his  own  brethren,  and  their  coming  was  the  begin- 
ning of  fervor  and  prosperity.10  About  this  time  was 
founded  the  abbey  "  Gottesgnade ' '  through  the 
generosity  of  Otto,  Count  of  Reveningen  and  Crudorp. 


»  Cfr.  Vita  B,  Ch.  LII. 

ioActa  SS.  T.  XX.,  p.  52.     Also  Hugo  Annal.  Ord.  Praem. 
II.  col.  575.  Poeldia. 


The  Habit  of  the  German  Fathers  293 

The  Count  himself  renounced  the  world  and  made  his 
religious  profession  in  the  Cathedral  of  Magdeburg, 
where  Norbert  had  given  him  the  white  habit.  In 
the  chronicles  of  this  abbey,  published  by  Dr.  Winter, 
we  read  that  the  first  provost  of  this  community  was 
Emelrick,  whom  Norbert  had  brought  with  him  from 
France,  and  who  later  became  a  bishop  in  the  East.  For 
the  clerics  and  laymen  who  formed  this  community,  Nor- 
bert prescribed  the  regular  statutes  in  conformity  with 
ithe  Rule  of  St.  Augustine,  "but,"  continues  the  author, 
"he  allowed  them,  as  he  had  also  done  in  Magdeburg,  to 
wear  black  capes  over  their  surplice,  and  to  cover  their 
habits  with  mantles;  he  gave  them  the  Breviary  and 
the  Gradual  of  the  Cathedral  of  Magdeburg  and  of  sec- 
ular canons,  which  he  himself  had  learned  and  followed 
formerly  at  Xanten. ' ' 1X 

Thus  did  God  draw  good  from  evil,  both  for  the 
Saint's  diocese  and  for  his  Order,  and  Norbert  was  fast 
approaching  the  attainment  of  his  ideal,  namely,  to 
bring  reform  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 

11  Winter  "Chronic.  Gratiae-Dei,"  pp.  329-332. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  DEFENDER  OF  THE  PAPACY. 

Norberti  studiis  Anacleti  scliismate  presso, 
Legitimo  Capiti  Roma  quieta  suites. 

Through  Norbert's  zeal  the  schism  of  the  antipope  was 
ended  and  Rome  restored  to  God's  true  Representative. 

That  Norbert's  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  religion  was 
not  merely  confined  to  his  Archdiocese,  but  extended  to 
the  Church  Universal,  we  learn  especially  from  the  part 
he  took  in  the  suppression  of  the  schism  of  Peter  di 
Leone.  Before  proceeding  with  the  Saint's  history, 
therefore,  it  appears  necessary  to  give  a  short  account 
of  this  nefarious  schism,  to  show  the  more  clearly  the 
importance  of  Norbert's  work. 

After  the  death  of  Pope  Honorius  II,  which  took  place 
about  the  middle  of  February,  Gregory,  Cardinal-Dea- 
con of  the  title  of  St.  Angelo,  had  duly  been  elected  to 
succeed  him.  He  was  clothed  in  the  Pontifical  robes  and 
enthroned  in  the  Lateran  basilica,  on  the  17th  day  of 
February,  1130,  taking  the  name  of  Innocent  II.  "On 
the  same  day,"  observes  Darras,  "Peter  di  Leone,  of  a 
recently  converted  Jewish  family,  whose  wealth  com- 
manded great  influence  in  Rome,  was  elected  by  some 
dissenting  Cardinals;  he  seized  St.  Peter's  Church  by 
armed  force,  stripped  it  of  all  its  wealth,  and  was 
crowned  by  his  partisans,  with  the  title  of  Anacletus 
II.  "*  He  was,  moreover,  bold  enough  to  send  notice 
of  his  election  to  all  Christian  princes  and  to  compel  the 

Cfr.     History  of  the  Cath.  Church,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  217. 
294 


The  Deplorable  Effect  of  the  Papal  Schism      295 

lawful  Pope  Innocent  to  leave  the  city.  To  estimate  more 
fully  the  grave  consequences  of  this  act  the  reader 
ought  not  to  forget  that  we  are  writing,  not  of  the  twen- 
tieth century,  but  of  the  twelfth,  when  there  was  neither 
telegraphic  communication  nor  the  press  to  reach  the 
world  with  the  rapidity  of  thought,  and  contradict 
false  announcements.  Moreover,  Peter  di  Leone  was 
Cardinal  at  the  time,  and  thus  a  great  many  did  not 
even  think  of  questioning  the  report.  In  fact,  he  it  was 
who,  together  with  Cardinal  Gregory,  now  the  lawful 
Pontiff,  had  given  in  1124  the  first  papal  approval  of  the 
Order  of  Premontre,  by  a  Bull  to  which  both  these  Car- 
dinals had  affixed  their  seals.  The  consequences  there- 
fore of  Peter's  assuming  the  papal  crown  in  opposition 
to  Gregory  were  very  deplorable,  and  created  lamentable 
confusion.  Ordericus  declares  that  "in  mtost  monas- 
teries two  abbots  arose  and  in  bishoprics,  two  prelates 
"strove  for  the  chief  authority,  one  of  whom  adhered  to 
"Peter  (Anacletus),  the  other  to  Gregory  ( Innocent )." 
And  St.  Bernard,  speaking  of  this  anti-pope,  says  in  one 
of  his  letters:  "The  enemy  of  the  Cross  of  Christ  (I  re- 
"late  it  even  weeping)  carries  his  audacity  so  far  as 
"to  drive  from  their  (Episcopal)  sees  the  holy  men  who 
"absolutely  refuse  to  bend  the  knee  before  the  beast  of 
"the  Apocalypse.  .  .  .  He  endeavors  to  raise  altar 
"against  altar  ...  to  intrude  abbots  into  the  places 
"of  abbots,  bishops  into  the  places  of  bishops,  to  thrust 
"out  Catholics,  to  advance  schismatics.  .  .  ."2  And 
in  letter  CXXIV  St.  Bernard  says  of  Peter,  that  either 
he  is  "of  Antichrist  or  the  Antichrist  himself." 


2  Cfr.  "Works  of  St.  Bernard,"  by  S.  J.  Eales.  Letter  CXXVI. 
See  also  General  Preface,  p.  35. 


296  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Incidentally,  we  might  call  the  reader's  attention  here 
to  a  former  letter  of  St.  Bernard  quoted  above.  From 
that  letter  it  appeared  that  the  present  schism  had  been 
revealed  to  our  Saint  two  years  before  it  actually  oc- 
curred. St.  Bernard  at  that  time  thought  Norbert 's 
prediction  a  mere  illusion,  but  now  when  he  saw  Peter 
di  Leone  usurping  the  Chair  of  St.  Peter,  and  followed 
by  a  dissolute  mob,  breaking  altars  and  selling  holy  ves- 
sels to  cover  the  expenses  of  a  cruel  war,  he  remembered 
the  words  of  Norbert;  and  thus  Bernard  himself  speaks 
of  Peter  as  the  Antichrist,  who  now  had  appeared  and 
was  making  war  against  God  and  His  Church. 

When  the  conflicting  reports  in  regard  to  the  new 
Pontiff  reached  the  ears  of  the  Archbishop  of  Magde- 
burg, he  at  once  took  steps  to  find  out  the  true  state  of 
affairs  in  Rome.  He  wrote  to  the  Archbishop  of  Ra- 
venna and  to  the  Bishop  of  Lucques  in  Tuscany,  who 
were  in  a  position  to  know  the  truth  about  the  election. 
Though  the  letters  of  the  Saint  have  been  lost,  the  an- 
swers of  the  two  Italian  prelates  still  exist.  Archbishop 
Gautier  wrote  to  Norbert  as  follows:  "Upon  receipt 
"of  the  letter  which  Your  Grace  has  deigned  to  send 
"me  without  knowing  me  and  without  ever  having  seen 
"me,  I  was  greatly  rejoiced  in  the  Lord,  because,  though 
"bodily  separated  by  a  long  distance,  we  are  united 
"through  charity."  He  then  relates  how,  after  the 
death  of  Pope  Honorius,  Cardinal  Gregory  had  been 
duly  elected,  and  continues:  "But  after  this  election, 
"Peter  Leonis,  who  for  a  long  time  had  aspired  to  the 
"Papacy,  now  assisted  by  the  violence  of  his  parents, 
"the  spilling  of  blood  and  the  profanation  of  holy  im- 
"ages,  impudently  took  the  red  cape,  distinctive  orna- 
"ment  of  the  Pope,  and  feared  not  to  usurp  in  a  simoni- 


Norbert  is  Informed  of  the  True  State  of  Things  297 

"acal  manner  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  our  Mother. 
' '  Since  these  facts  are  known  to  all  the  churches  of  Italy, 
"we  recognize  without  a  shadow  of  doubt,  we  salute  and 
"venerate  as  Pope  and  Lord  Apostolic,  Innocent  II,  a 
"man  wise,  prudent,  chaste,  humble  and  full  of  virtue, 
"who  has  received  the  divine  consecration  from  the  ven- 
"erable  Cardinals.  In  regard  to  Peter  Leonis,  who  is 
'  truly  a  son  of  a  roaring  lion,  we  condemn  him  and  re- 
"  ject  him  as  an  intruder,  an  apostate  and  a  heretic.  We 
"beg  the  prudence  of  Your  Grace  not  to  hesitate.  ..." 
He  further  begs  Norbert  to  use  his  influence  with  Lo- 
thaire,  King  of  the  Romans,  to.  induce  him  to  come  to 
Rome  at  once,  and  to  confirm  the  bishops  of  Germany  in 
the  union  of  the  Catholic  faith.  He  then  concludes,  rec- 
ommending himself  to  Norbert 's  pious  prayers,  and  wish- 
ing the  Saint  "long  life  and  health  for  the  welfare  of  a 
"great  number  of  people  and  for  the  glory  and  honor 
"of  the  Church."3 

The  answer  of  Henry,  Bishop  of  Lucquez,  was  still 
more  explicit  on  the  fact  of  the  election.  He  relates  to 
Norbert,  "his  Father  and  Lord/'  how,  when  Pope  Hon- 
orius  was  dangerously  sick,  the  Cardinals  met  in  the 
church  of  St.  Andrew  the  Apostle,  and  decided  that  the 
election  of  a  new  Pontiff  should  be  entrusted  to  eight 
persons:  two  Cardinal-Bishops,  the  one  of  Preneste  and 
the  one  of  Sabine ;  three  Cardinal-Priests,  Peter  of  Pisa, 
Peter  Rufus  and  Peter  Leonis;  three  Cardinal-Deacons, 
Gregory  of  St.  Angelo,  Jonathas  and  the  Chancellor 
Haimeric,  in  such  a  manner  that  when  Pope  Honorius, 
who  then  was  in  his  last  hour,  came  to  die,  he  who  should 


3  Mansi.  Concil.  XXI,  p.  432,  et  seqq.  "Visis  Sanctissimae 
Paternitatis  Vestrae  litteris  .       ." 


298  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

be  elected  by  these  eight  men  or  their  majority,  would  be 
recognized  by  all  as  the  new  Pope.  The  Cardinal-Bishop 
of  Preneste  decided,  moreover,  with  the  consent  of  all 
the  others,  that  if  ariyone  should  oppose  the  election  thus 
made,  he  would  be  subject  to  excommunication ;  and  that 
if  anyone  should  try  to  elect  another,  this  election  would 
be  null,  and  that  he,  thus  elected,  should  be  incapable 
of  ever  obtaining  any  dignity  in  the  Church.  Peter  di 
Leone  confirmed  this  decision  with  his  own  mouth,  adding 
that  no  one  need  fear  any  coming  schism  in  the  Church. 
".  .  .  But  he  and  Jonathas  separated  themselves  from 
their  colleagues.  .  .  .  " 4 

These  are  the  two  letters  addressed  to  the  Archbishop 
of  Magdeburg  in  answer  to  his  queries,  which  letters 
incidentally  have  revealed  to  modern  historians  the  exact 
circumstances  of  the  election  of  Innocent,  and  the  intru- 
sion of '  Anacletus.  It  is  needless  to  add  which  side  Nor- 
bert  chose. 

Now,  as  we  have  said,  Anacletus,  once  master  of  Home, 
had  dispatched  letters  to  all  Christian  sovereigns  an- 
nouncing his  election  to  the  pontifical  throne.  The  bearer 
of  the  letter  to  the  German  King  Lothaire  was  Albero, 
Archbishop  of  Bremen  and  Legate  of  the  anti-pope  in 
Germany,  who  used  all  his  influence  to  gain  the  king 
for  the  party  of  his  master.  This  same  Albero  bore 
also  a  letter  from  the  anti-pope  to  Norbert,  because 
Anacletus  knew  him  to  be  the  king's  friend  and  adviser. 
In  this  letter  the  anti-pope  spoke  in  the  most  flattering 
terms  of  the  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg  and  the  great 
work  the  Premonstratensians  were  doing,  at  the  same 

*  Cfr.  Madelaine  o.  c.,  p.  412,  who  moreover  quotes  the  letter 
in  full  in  the  appendix.  No.  XII. 


Norbert  Contemns  Letters  from  Anacletus       299 

time  reminding  Norbert  of  the  fact  that  he  as  the  Pope 's 
Legate  had  at  one  time  done  Norbert  a  great  service  by 
approving  his  Order.  He  further  begged  the  Saint  to 
follow  his  party  and  use  his  influence  with  King  Lo- 
thaire  and  the  German  Court.5 

But  Norbert,  not  satisfied  with  the  accounts  he  had  re- 
ceived from  the  above  mentioned  bishops,  had  also  ob- 
tained information  from  Haimeric  himself,  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Roman  Church,6  who  confirmed  Norbert  in 
his  belief  regarding  the  nullity  of  Peter's  election.  Con- 
sequently the  Saint  treated  the  letters  from  Anacletus 
with  contempt,  and  replied,  that  far  from  using  his 
influence  in  favor  of  the  anti-pope,  he  would  most  as- 
suredly direct  it  against  him. 

Meanwhile  the  adherents  of  Anacletus  did  all  in  their 
power  to  gain  Lothaire  over  to  their  party.  Pressed 
for  a  decision,  the  king  convoked  a  Diet  at  Wurzburg 
(or  "Wissemburg)  in  the  month  of  October,  1130.  Nor- 
bert was  the  soul  of  this  assembly,  and  by  his  powerful 
eloquence  caused  the  king  to  declare  that  he  recognized 
Innocent  II  as  the  legitimate  Pontiff,  and  at  the  same 
Diet  Peter  di  Leone  was  excommunicated.7  Nor- 
bert did  more.  When  Pope  Innocent  had  been  com- 
pelled to  leave  Rome,  he  had  turned  towards  the  shores 
of  France,  which  had  received  the  august  exile  with  all 
honor  due  to  his  great  dignity. 

5  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  281,  who  further  quotes  Hugo,  ac- 
cording to  whom  Anacletus  made  great  promises  in  the  letter 
to  Norbert,  the  nature  of  which,  however,  is  not  revealed. 

e  Anacletus  reproached  Norbert  for  having  listened  to  Hai- 
meric. Cfr.  Hugo  "Vie  de  saint  Norbert,"  p.  309. 

TCfr.  Tenckhoff,  p.  35— Hefele  "Hist,  des  Cone."  T.  VII,  p. 
210. 


300  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

At  this  time  His  Holiness  was  at  Chartres,  and 
through  the  influence  of  Norbert,  a  meeting  was  ar- 
ranged between  the  Pope  and  the  King  at  the  Council  of 
Liege,  "  where  the  Emperor  Lothaire  came  to  meet  him 
"(Pope  Innocent)  with  an  enormous  attendance  of 
"Archbishops,  Bishops  and  Dignitaries  of  his  realm; 
"and  in  the  center  of  the  great  square  before  the  cathe- 
dral church,  the  Emperor,  as  if  he  had  been  the  Pope's 
"equerry,  approached  the  Pontiff  respectfully  on  foot, 
"in  the  midst  of  his  procession,  and  with  one  hand  kept 
"off  the  crowd  with  a  rod,  while  with  the  other,  like  a 
"servant  conducting  his  lord,  he  led  by  the  bridle  the 
"white  horse  on  which  the  pope  was  mounted.  Then, 
"as  the  ground  was  sloping,  he  supported  and  almost 
"carried  the  Pope,  and  thus  greatly  increased  the  dig- 
"nity  of  his  Paternity  (the  Pope)  in  the  eyes  of  all."8 
Truly  a  great  triumph  for  Norbert,  to  see  his  loyal  ef- 
forts thus  crowned  with  success;  and  the  consequences 
of  this  public  acknowledgment  on  the  part  of  Lothaire 
at  this  particular  time  cannot  be  overestimated. 

Anacletus  was  duly  informed  of  Norbert 's  activity,  and 
must  have  been  acutely  and  incalculably  disappointed. 
But  he  dissimulated  his  anger  and  used  the  greatest 
moderation  in  his  dealings  with  our  Saint.  It  happened 
that  Atticus,  the  former  Archdeacon,  whom  the  reader 
will  not  forget  as  the  leader  of  Norbert 's  enemies  in 
Magdeburg,  had  just  at  this  time  made  an  appeal  to  the 


s  This  quotation  is  taken  from  the  "General  Preface"  to  the 
Works  of  St.  Bernard,  by  S.  J.  Eales,  pp.  39-40.  Although 
Norbert's  name  is  not  mentioned  just  here  in  connection  with 
this  event,  further  quotations  will  prove  the  above  statement. 
Cfr.,  also  Madelaine  o.  c.,  p.  415.  Hefele  loc.  cit.  Acta  Sanc- 
torum T.  I.  Maii,  p.  527. 


Norbert  is  Cited  to  Rome  "by  the  Antipope       301 

court  of  the  anti-pope,  against  his  Archbishop,  who  was 
Norbert.  It  seems  beyond  doubt  that  this  Atticus,  or 
Hazeko;  having  been  repeatedly  found  guilty  of  injustice 
in  the  execution  of  his  office,  had  at  last  been  suspended 
by  the  Archbishop,  and  dismissed  from  his  office.  Now 
against  this  judgment  of  Norbert,  he  had  appealed  to  the 
anti-pope,  and  even  personally  gone  to  Rome  to  de- 
fend his  cause. 

Anacletus  on  his  part  thought  to  find  in  this  event  a 
favorable  opportunity  of  coming  in  contact  with  Norbert, 
and  in  order  perchance  to  gain  him  eventually  to  his 
party,  proceeded  with  the  greatest  caution.  He  began 
by  requesting  the  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg  in  the  most 
polite  terms  to  appear  before  him.  In  his  request,  which 
is  dated  May  18,  1130,'  it  was  stated  that  it  was  less  to 
judge  him  than  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  again  an 
old  friend.  The  concluding  words  are :  ' '  "We  desire  to 
"love  you  with  our  whole  heart,  and  to  honor  you  with 
"all  our  power,  you  and  the  church  confided  to  you."9 

When,  however,  Norbert  failed  to  take  any  notice  of 
the  request,  Anacletus  cited  him  to  Rome  a  second  time, 
and  commanded  him  to  re-establish  Atticus  in  his  former 
position.  But  the  Saint  treated  this  second  letter  as  the 
first,  and  finally  the  anti-pope  Anacletus,  excommuni- 
cated Norbert,  the  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  in  the  fol- 
lowing words:  "We  have  ordered  you  to  appear  before 
"us  during  the  Octave  of  St.  Martin,  but  you,  unfaith- 
"ful  son,  son  of  Belial,  you  have  not  only  treated  with 
' '  contempt  our  paternal  commands,  but  by  your  sarcastic 
"discourses  you  have  even  dared  to  attack  us,  and 
"through  us  the  Chair  of  St.  Peter.  And  to  give  a  sem- 

9  Hugo  "La  Vie  de  saint  Norbert,"  p.  311. 


302  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

"blance  of  truth  to  your  slander  you  have  said  publicly 
"that  We  have  come  to  the  highest  Apostolic  Office,  not 
' '  by  the  election  of  the  clergy  but  by  the  intrigues  of  our 
' '  family,  the  strong  'arm  of  our  brother  and  the  spilling 
"of  blood.  I  know  from  what  source  you  have  these 
' '  calumnious  inventions ;  it  is  Haimeric,  a  man  dismissed 
"from  the  College  of  the  Cardinals,  who  has  furnished 
"you  with  the  material. 

"You  further  have  communicated  these  lies  to  His 
"Majesty,  King  Lothaire,  whose  confidence  you  are  abus- 
"ing  scandalously.  You  further  pride  yourself  on  hav- 
' '  ing  him  for  friend  and  protector,  as  if  a  crime  could  be 
"condoned  by  the  dignity  of  its  protectors.  "We  are  as- 
"tonished  to  see  so  great  a  Sovereign  the  champion  of  an 
"infamous  lie,  and  more  amazed  still  at  finding  this 
"pious  king  allowing  you  to  bark  like  a  dog  against  the 
"majesty  of  the  papacy.  For  I  know  that  you  are  go- 
"ing  about  to  all  the  bishops  and  nobles  of  the  realm  to 
"make  proselytes  for  a  criminal,  who  is  the  antichrist, 
"and  to  take  the  people  away  from  under  our  authority. 
"What  evil  spirit  drives  you?  What  has  the  Catholic 
"Church  done  to  you?  That  We  gave  you  so  many 
"tokens  of  our  affection,  that  We  have  given  freely 
"  (gratis)  Our  approbation  to  your  Order  when  We  were 
"in  France,  is  all  this  the  reason  why  you  erect  an  idol 
"in  Germany,  and  raise  altar  against  altar?  The  unity 
"of  the  Catholic  Church  can  no  longer  suffer  the  ex- 
"  cesses  of  this  shameful  schism.  We  therefore  feel  our- 
"  selves  obliged  to  cut  with  a  knife  the  wound  which  We 
"were  unable  to  heal  with  balm  of  love. 

"Consequently  we  condemn  you  and  your  followers 
"as  we  do  Jannes  and  Mambres,  Dathan  and  Abiron. 
"We  deprive  you  of  all  your  ecclesiastical  and  civil 


The  Excommunication  is  a  Eulogy  to  Norbert    303 

4 'rights,  and  deliver  you  to  eternal  damnation.  Given 
"at  Rome,  from  St.  Peter's,  Jan.  29,  1131.  "10 

"I  really  do  not  know,"  says  Abbot  Illana,  "why 
Anacletus  and  Hazeko  went  through  all  this  trouble,  the 
one  to  write  such  a  letter  and  the  other  to  deliver  it,  since 
both  knew  the  character  of  Norbert.  And  in  very  truth, 
the  injuries  enumerated  by  the  anti-pope,  irritated  at  not 
having  been  able  to  gain  for  his  own  cause  a  m&n  like 
Norbert,  seem  to  us  now  the  most  magnificent  eulogy  of 
the  conduct  of  our  Saint  during  the  schism  of  1130. 
Moreover  the  excommunication  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Magdeburg  did  great  harm  to  the  cause  of  Anac- 
letus himself,  especially  in  Germany.  The  people,  who 
held  their  Archbishop  in  the  highest  veneration,  when 
they  saw  him  thus  grossly  insulted  by  one  who  claimed  to 
be  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  became  more  and  more  convinced 
of  his  intrigues  and  excesses.  On  the  other  hand,  Pope 
Innocent  greatly  encouraged  Norbert,  and  especially 
after  the  Council  of  Rheims  showed  Norbert  how  deeply 
grateful  he  was  for  the  work  the  Saint  was  doing  for  the 
welfare  of  the  Church. 

At  the  Council  of  Rheims,  Norbert  had  assisted  as  am- 
bassador of  Lothaire,  and  his  arrival  is  thus  described 
by  the  chronicler:11  "At  that  time  our  Bishop  Bernard 
"with  Norbert,  Metropolitan  of  Magdeburg,  who  in  those 
"days  enjoyed  great  fame  and  renown  in  the  Church  of 
"God,  arrived  in  the  city  of  Rheims."  Norbert  was  com- 
missioned to  hand  over  to  the  Pope  a  letter  in  which 


10  Hugo  1.  c.    This  letter  was  found  in  the  archives  of  Mont 
Cassin  and  sent  to  Hugo  in  1704.     Cfr.  Madelaine,  p.  418. 

11  Cfr.  Pertz  Script.  XII,  p.  642— also  Acta  SS.  T.  I.  Maii., 
p.  528. 


304  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

King  Lothaire  again  protested  his  deep  respect  for  Pope 
Innocent,  and  announced  his  readiness  to  undertake  the 
expedition  to  Rome  against  Anacletus.  No  more  wel- 
come news  could  hate  been  given  to  Pope  Innocent,  and 
he  therefore  showed  his  deep  appreciation  in  a  letter, 
addressed  to  the  Saint  shortly  after,  from  which  the  fol- 
lowing words  are  taken:  "It  is  known  to  all  with  how 
"  great  firmness  and  perseverance,  you,  reverend  brother 
"Norbert,  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  have  taken  upon 
"yourself  the  defense  of  the  unity  of  the  Catholic  Church 
"and  how  your  burning  piety  and  prudent  foresight 
"have  stood  like  an  unassailable  wall  around  the  house 
1 '  of  God  against  the  advancing  schism  of  Peter  di  Leone. 
"You  have  done  all  in  your  power  to  gain  the  good  will 
"of  the  King,  princes  and  others,  clerics  and  laymen,  to 
"preserve  the  unity  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  to  bring 
"by  your  eloquent  and  powerful  discourses  all  under 
"obedience  to  Us  and  to  St.  Peter."12 

Thus  we  have  the  testimony  of  Pope  Innocent  as  well 
as  the  indirect  praise  of  the  anti-pope,  showing  Nor- 
bert's  great  activity  in  this  schism.  Among  the  writings 
of  St.  Norbert,  which,  alas,  are  lost  to  us,  Le  Paige  names 
a  ' '  Treatise  for  the  defense  of  Pope  Innocent  against  the 
"anti-pope  Peter  Leonis."13  Considering  the  great  part 
our  Saint  took  in  this  struggle  of  the  whole  Church 
against  one  man,  the  loss  of  this  paper  is  most  unfor- 

12  This  remarkable  letter,  observes  VandenElsen,  p.  290,  is 
found  in  Ludwig  "Relig.  Manusc.  XII,  dipl.  miscell.  IV.  388. 
Also  Jaffe  R.  P.  5441— and  Migne  CLXXXIX,  167.  A  similar 
letter  had  also  been  received  by  St.  Bernard  on  Feb.  17,  1132. 

is  Le  Paige  "Biblioth  ...  p.  304.  "Scripsit  .  .  .  prae- 
clarum  opus  pro  defensione  Innocentii  Papae  secundi  contra 
Petrum  Leonis  filium,  pseudo-papam.  .  .  ." 


Norbert  Visits  Prenwntre  305 

tunate.  Cardinal  Gerard  Caccinianimici,  who  watched 
over  the  interests  of  Pope  Innocent  in  Germany,  con- 
fessed loudly  that  by  the  efforts  of  Norbert  Germany 
persevered  in  her  obedience  to  the  legitimate  Pontiff. 
Norbert  was  thus  for  Germany  what  St.  Bernard  was  for 
France,  so  that  we  can  truly  say  that  the  two  great  de- 
fenders of  the  Church  in  these  calamitous  times,  were 
Bernard  and  Norbert. 

At  the  close  of  the  Council  of  Rheims  the  Pope  pro- 
ceeded to  Laon,  whither  Norbert  accompanied  him,  as  he 
had  a  great  desire  to  revisit  his  dear  Premontre.  The 
Saint  travelled  in  the  company  of  Bartholomew,  the  good 
Bishop  of  Laon,  who  still  continued  to  love  and  protect 
the  Order  Norbert  had  founded.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
divine  the  topic  of  conversation  as  the  two  bishops 
travelled  once  more  over  the  roads  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Laon.  How  vividly  they  were  reminded  of  the  days 
when  Bishop  Bartholomew  went  forth  with  Norbert  in 
search  of  a  place  suitable  for  a  monastery.  How  won- 
derfully this  work  had  developed  under  Divine  guid- 
ance! 

When  at  last  Norbert  arrived  in  the  monastery  he  was 
received  by  the  brethren  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 
However  great  was  the  joy  of  Norbert 's  arrival  to  the 
brethren,  that  of  his  own  heart  surpassed  it,  when  he 
saw  the  fervor  of  the  religious.14  When  once  more  he 
walked  the  old  familiar  halls,  and  joined  the  brethren  in 
the  singing  of  the  Divine  Office,  how  deep  down  in  his 
heart  he  must  have  envied  them  their  peaceful  religious 


i*  Cfr.  Hugo  o.  c.,  p.  316,  who  bases  his  assertion  on  a  man- 
uscript life  of  St.  Norbert.  Cfr.  also  P.  Alph  de  Liguori,  p. 
292. 


306  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

and  regular  life.  How  different  it  all  was  from  his  daily 
life  as  head  of  an  archdiocese,  especially  in  those  trou- 
blous days.  However,  he  always  found  consolation  in 
his  favorite  maxim:  *  "Qui  Deum  habet  pro  se  turbatur 
in  nulla  re."  "Who  has  God  on  his  side  is  never  dis- 
turbed by  anything. 

The  Sovereign  Pontiff,  accompanied  by  several  bishops, 
likewise  paid  a  visit  to  Premontre  at  this  time.  His  Holi- 
ness did  so  to  show  his  appreciation  of  all  Norbert  had 
done  in  his  behalf.15  "What  the  Pope  witnessed,"  the 
writer  further  continues,  "fully  confirmed  all  he  had 
heard  concerning  the  fervor  of  these  religious,  who  at 
this  period  were  the  admiration  of  the  whole  Church. 
With  his  own  eyes  he  saw  how  men  of  noble  birth  and 
great  learning  practiced  joyfully  the  most  rigorous  aus- 
terities of  privation  and  religious  discipline.  Five  hun- 
dred religious  he  found  living  together  as  brethren, 
united  by  the  same  spirit  and  working  for  the  same  end. 
He  further  saw  how  many  of  them,  while  strictly  observ- 
ing the  monastic  exercises  of  the  contemplative  life,  ful- 
filled at  the  same  time  the  priestly  functions  of  the  active 
ministry.  The  virtuous  lives  of  these  fervent  religious 
so  edified  Pope  Innocent,  that  he  again  confirmed,  now 
as  Sovereign  Pontiff,  the  Order  which  he  had  formerly 
confirmed  as  Legate  to  Pope  Honorius.  He  further  con- 
firmed and  approved  the  resolutions  of  the  General  Chap- 
ter, by  which  unity  of  discipline  had  been  established  for 
all  Premonstratensian  foundations,  and  by  which  the 
Abbot  of  Premontre  had  become  Abbot-General."16 


is  Cfr.  Madelaine,  pp.  416-417. 

16  According  to  Le  Paige,  419-448,  both  these  "Bulls"  are 
dated  April  12,  1131. 


Norbert  Returns  to  His  See  307 

After  the  Pope's  departure  Norbert  spent  a  few  more 
days  in  his  dear  solitude,  and  then  at  the  special  com- 
mand of  Innocent,  hastened  back  to  Germany  that  he 
might  confer  with  Lothaire  on  the  proposed  expedition 
into  Italy. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   ITALIAN    EXPEDITION. 

Schisma  Anacleti  quando  Norberte!  coerces, 
Clara  tibi  comitem  vallis  arnica  dedit. 
Innocui  papae  paries  meliusne  tueri 
In  mundo  quis,  quam  Lilium,  apisque,  queat? 

When  Norbert  was  engaged  in  suppressing  the  schism  of 
Peter  di  Leone,  Clairvaux  offered  him  as  helper  St.  Bernard. 
Who,  of  all  men,  were  more  able  to  defend  the  cause  of  Pope 
Innocent  than  these  two  Saints? 

While  nearly  the  whole  Catholic  world  recognized  In- 
nocent as  the  rightful  pastor  of  the  Church,  Anacletus 
with  all  his  power  and  the  influence  of  his  wealth,  had 
managed  to  remain  master  in  the  Eternal  City.  Roger, 
Duke  of  Sicily,  who  was  ambitious  to  wear  the  royal 
crown,  and  William,  Count  of  Poitou  and  Duke  of  Aqui- 
taine,  both  recognized  his  authority,  for  which  they  were 
naturally  amply  repaid  by  Anacletus.  Thus  the  latter 
had  even  given  to  Roger  the  hand  of  his  sister  in  mar- 
riage, adding  by  this  to  his  domains  the  principality  of 
Capua  and  the  lordship  of  Naples.  One  of  the  biog- 
raphers of  St.  Bernard  observes  that  Anacletus  had 
promised  the  pontifical  sanction  to  his  election  to  the 
kingdom  of  Sicily  and  Italy,  in  return  for  Roger's  for- 
mal engagement  to  lend  a  helping  hand  against  the  pre- 
tensions of  Innocent.  "It  is  even  asserted,"  he  con- 
tinues, "from  some  documents  found  in  Roger's  papers, 
"that,  in  order  to  attach  the  kingdom  of  Sicily  more 
"closely  to  the  cause  of  the  Holy  See,  the  schismatical 


Tlie  Italian  Expedition  of  Lothaire  309 

"pope  promised  him  the  dignity  of  patrician  of  Rome, 
"and,  perhaps,  even  the  crown  of  the  German  Empire."1 

But  Pope  Innocent,  relying  on  the  promises  of  King 
Lothaire,  which  were  communicated  to  him  through  Nor- 
bert  at  the  Council  of  Rheims,  namely,  that  Lothaire  was 
ready  to  open  the  campaign  in  Italy  with  all  the  forces 
of  his  Empire,  set  out  for  Rome  in  the  company  of  St. 
Bernard,  hoping  to  be  able  at  last  to  put  an  end  to  the 
schism.  In  the  words  of  one  of  the  oldest  chroniclers,  this 
was  the  situation:  "Anacletus  occupied  the  seat  of  au- 
thority, Innocent  had  with  him  the  churches;  the  for- 
"mer  was  master  of  Rome,  the  latter  reigned  over  the 
"Catholic  world."2 

"However,"  says  the  biographer  of  St.  Bernard,  "the 
critical  state  of  affairs  in  Germany  was  far  from  justi- 
fying the  ostentatious  promises  of  Lothaire.  Obstacles 
arose  on  every  side  to  his  Italian  campaign.  .  .  . 
The  princes  of  the  empire,  whose  esteem  Lothaire  had  not 
been  able  to  gain,  remained  shut  up  in  their  capitals,  in 
displeasure  at  the  decay  of  the  German  Empire  and  thus 
testifying  their  disapprobation  of  the  enterprise  which 
they  considered  to  be  ill-timed,  and  beyond  the  power 
of  Lothaire  to  accomplish."3 

Norbert,  who  by  this  time^had  returned  to  Germany, 
had  been  instructed  by  the  Holy  Father  to  use  his  in- 
fluence to  strengthen  the  King  in  his  resolve  to  send  an 
army.  Moreover,  it  must  also  be  observed  that  Lo- 
thaire 's  expedition  into  Italy  had  another  object  be 


1  Cfr.  "The  Life  and  Times  of  St.  Bernard,"  by  Mons.  L'Abbe 
Ratisbonne,  p.  174. 

2  Hugo    "Sacrae    Antiq.    Monum."      I.    Chron.    fr.    Balduini 
Ninov.,  p.  165. 

"  s  Ratisbonne,  o.  c.,  p.  189. 


310  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

sides  giving  assistance  to  the  Pope.  Innocent  had  prom- 
ised to  crown  Lothaire  Emperor  as  soon  as  Rome  and  the 
church  of  the  Lateran  would  be  in  his  possession,  and 
"Lothaire  was  aware  that  the  imperial  crown  alone 
"could  strengthen  his  tottering  authority  in  Germany, 
"and  enhance  the  majesty  of  his  throne  in  the  eyes  of 
' '  the  German  princes. ' '  4 

Thus  we  might  say  that  Lothaire  at  last  undertook  the 
perilous  expedition,  by  the  persuasion  of  Norbert,  and 
through  personal  ambition.  His  vassals  having  refused 
him  their  assistance,  he  succeeded  with  infinite  difficulty 
in  collecting  an  army  of  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two 
thousand  men.  On  Easter  Sunday  of  the  year  1132 
(April  10),  he  solemnly  announced  his  determination  to 
undertake  the  expedition,  and  confided  the  care  of  the 
kingdom  to  Henry,  Duke  of  Bavaria.  He  further  com- 
manded the  army  to  meet  at  Wurzburg,  and  when  Nor- 
bert gave  his  consent  to  accompany  the  King  into  Italy, 
Lothaire  appointed  him  his  Chancellor,  since  this  office 
was  vacant  on  account  of  the  death  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Cologne.5 

4  Ibidem,  p.  190. 

6  Upon  this  matter,  says  S.  J.  Eales,  o.  c.,  General  Preface, 
p.  43,  there  is  a  letter  of  the  Emperor  Lothaire  in  the  Spicile- 
gium,  vol.  VI,  in  which  Norbert,  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg, 
has  the  title  of  Chancellor.  Returning  to  Magdeburg  after 
his  visit  to  France,  Norbert  had  been  present  at  the  election 
of  the  new  Archbishop  of  Cologne.  First,  Godfrey,  who  after- 
wards entered  the  abbey  of  Steinfeldt,  had  been  elected,  but 
was  prevailed  upon  to  make  room  for  Bruno,  whom  St.  Ber- 
nard in  letter  VIII  refers  to  St.  Norbert  for  advice.  According 
to  Hugo,  the  bishop-elect  at  this  time  was  in  a  monastery 
preparing  himself  for  his  consecration  and  hence  unable  to 
accompany  the  King.  Cfr.  Hugo,  o.  c.,  p.  329. 


Norbert  Accompanies  Lothaire  Into  Italy       311 

At  first  the  Saint  had  refused  the  honor  on  account  of 
failing  health.  "Worn  out  by  austerities  of  more  than 
seventeen  years,  by  hard  missionary  labors,  and  not  the 
least  by  the  numerous  hardships  endured  by  him  during 
his  episcopate,  Norbert  now  began  to  feel  that  his  earthly 
career  was  drawing  to  a  close.  However,  when  both 
King  Lothaire  and  Pope  Innocent  insisted  on  his  com- 
ing, and  convinced  him  that  his  presence  was  necessary 
for  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  the  Saint  finally  yielded. 
It  is  to  be  noted  here  that  the  last  years  of  Norbert 's  life, 
to  his  great  credit,  were  entirely  spent  for  the  welfare 
of  the  Church  in  general.  Might  we  not  infer  from  this 
fact  that  conditions  in  his  own  diocese  were  such  that 
his  presence  was  no  longer  absolutely  required  to  insure 
regularity  ? 

King  Lothaire,  surrounded  by  his  Court  and  many  Pre- 
lates of  the  Church,  met  his  army  at  Wurzburg,  and 
celebrated  the  feast  of  the  Assumption.  From  here  the 
army  went  to  Augsburg,  where  they  arrived  on  the  27th 
of  August,  1132,  and,  says  a  contemporary  author,  Nor- 
bert 's  first  visit  was  to  the  Cathedral.  As  was  his  wont, 
on  entering,  he  knelt  at  the  threshold  and  said:  " Peace 
be  to  this  house  and  to  all  who  dwell  therein. ' '  Scarcely 
had  he  said  these  words  when  he  turned  to  his  deacon 
and  said:  "Brother,  I  have  prayed  for  peace  in  behalf 
' c  of  this  place  and  wished  for  it ;  but  I  have  seen  that 
"peace  has  not  been  received.  Take  good  care  of  my 
"pallium  and  all  the  things  I  have  entrusted  to  you,  for 
"the  inhabitants  will  soon  be  in  arms,  and  there  will  be 
' '  a  great  confusion  in  the  city. ' '  6 

These  prophetic  words  of  Norbert  were  soon  fulfilled, 

eActa  SS.  XX.  Anacleta  Norb.  Append,  fratr.  Cappenb., 
p.  846. 


312  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

for  when,  on  the  next  morning,  the  citizens  offered  re- 
sistance to  the  royal  troops,  a  sanguinary  battle  ensued, 
and  but  for  Norbert 's  prompt  action,  even  the  life  of 
their  venerable  Bishop  Hermann  would  not  have  been 
spared.7  In  less  than  two  hours  the  greater  part  of  the 
city  was  reduced  to  ashes  and  the  king's  army  dispersed 
in  all  directions;  and  what  was  far  worse,  when,  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  the  army  had  been  reassembled, 
many  of  the  soldiers  looked  upon  this  catastrophe  as  a 
bad  omen,  and  refused  to  continue  the  expedition.  On 
this  occasion  especially  did  Norbert  make  use  of  his 
power  of  eloquence,  and  so  effectually  convinced  the 
soldiers  of  the  greatness  of  the  cause  for  which  they  were 
going  to  fight  and  of  the  sure  protection  from  above,  that 
with  renewed  courage  they  continued  their  march. 

During  this  interval,  Innocent  had  gone  to  Italy  in 
the  company  of  St.  Bernard,  to  await  there  the  army  of 
Lothaire.  Their  unexpected  arrival,  added  to  the  news 
of  the  expedition  of  Lothaire,  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  the  Italians;  and  whilst  the  adherents  of  Conrad 
and  Anacletus  maintained  a  prudent  reserve — the  par- 
tisans of  Innocent  and  Lothaire  took  fresh  courage.  St. 
Bernard,  in  obedience  to  the  Pope's  orders,  went  preach- 
ing peace  in  the  principal  cities  of  Lombardy,  and  was 
so  successful  that  under  the  footsteps  of  St.  Bernard,  as 
the  prophet  expresses  it,  "The  valleys  were  filled,  the 
"mountains  were  brought  low,  the  ways  were  made  plain, 
' '  and  the  crooked  ways  straight. ' ' 

The  army  meanwhile  had  reached  Milan,  where  shortly 
before,  Lothaire 's  great  opponent  and  competitor,  Con- 

7  VandenElsen,  p.  327,  says  that  the  venerable  bishop  had 
been  thrown  out  into  the  street  during  the  night,  and  Norbert 
found  him  and  cared  for  him. 


St.  Norbert  and  St.  Bernard  313 

rad,  had  received  the  royal  crown.  But  Conrad,  who 
had  learned  that  Lothaire  was  on  his  way  to  Italy  with 
a  numerous  army,  and  believed  the  rumor,  went  back 
to  Germany,  says  Otto  of  Frisingen,  to  hide  his  shame.8 

Between  Plaisance  and  Cremona  is  the  plain  of  Ron- 
caglia,  where  at  last  the  king,  anxiously  awaited  by  Pope 
Innocent,  arrived.  Here  Innocent  and  Lothaire,  after 
deliberating  with  their  trusted  advisers,  Norbert  and 
Bernard,  on  the  best  means  of  bringing  the  expedition 
to  a  successful  issue,  decided  that  the  Pope  should  go 
along  the  seacoast  of  Viterbo,  while  the  troops  should 
continue  their  march  by  a  different  route.  The  details 
which  now  follow  are  entirely  new  to  history  9  and  based 
on  a  biography  of  St.  Norbert,  recently  published  in  Ger- 
many. King  Lothaire  made  a  halt  along  the  shore  of 
Lake  Bolsena,  in  a  place  called  Valentano,  and  Pope 
Innocent  was  resting  not  far  from  there  at  Viterbo.  This 
was  in  March,  1133. 

Anacletus,  who  had  been  struck  with  fear  when  told  of 
Lothaire 's  approach,  and  who,  besides,  was  at  that  mo- 
ment in  no  position  to  defend  himself,  contrived  to  gain 
by  cunning  and  delay  what  he  was  unable  to  obtain  by 
force.  He  sent  an  embassy  to  Lothaire  in  order  to  gain 
time,  and  endeavored  by  promises  and  even  by  offering 
a  sum  of  money,  to  gain  him  to  his  cause.  Acting  upon 
the  advice  and  under  the  influence  of  Norbert,  the  king 
scarcely  listened  to  the  ambassadors,  who,  consequently, 
wholly  failed  in  their  mission.  Anacletus  then  devised 
another  scheme,  which  apparently  seemed  honest  and 

s  Cfr.  Tenckhoff,  p.  16-38;  Otto,  Frising.  VII,  18. 

9  Madelaine,  p.  430.  Cr.  Muhlbacher  "Researches  on  the 
schism  of  1130"  (Innsbruck,  1877),  who  points  out  several 
errors  in  the  details  of  the  Life  of  Pertz.  Vita  A. 


314  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

just.  He  admitted  that  his  own  election  was  doubtful, 
but  added  that  neither  was  the  election  of  Innocent  un- 
questionable, and  that  therefore  a  competent  tribunal, 
where  both  parties  could  be  heard,  should  decide  the 
question.10 

This  appeal  at  once  impressed  the  King,  who  did  not 
at  first  stop  to  consider  the  motives  of  Anacletus.  For- 
tunately, however,  Norbert  was  still  with  Lothaire  and 
prevailed  on  him  to  suspend  judgment  until  Pope  Inno- 
cent had  been  heard  from.  Without  losing  a  moment 
Norbert  set  out  at  once  for  Viterbo  to  take  counsel  with 
the  Holy  Father  and  St.  Bernard.  The  latter  refers  to 
this  incident  in  his  letter  to  the  Bishops  of  Aquitaine, 
in  the  following  words:  "But  now  they  demand  judg- 
"ment,  which  they  ought  to  have  waited  for  (expectasse) 
"before  acting.  When  that  proposition  was  made  to 
"them  at  the  proper  time,  they  rejected  it;  they  do  this 
"now  only  to  appear  to  have  right  on  their  side,  if 
"you  refuse  it  in  your  turn;  and  if  you  accept  it,  they 
"hope  that  during  the  process,  time  may  be  gained  by 
"delays.  .  .  .  This  is  a  trap.  .  .  ."  (CXXVI.) 

Many  of  the  Pope's  friends  and  advisers  opposed  the 
scheme  with  all  their  might,  but  Norbert  saw  a  great 
opportunity  of  exposing  the  ambition  of  the  anti-pope 
by  accepting  the  proposal.  The  Holy  Father  was  of 
the  same  opinion,  and  thus  consented  to  appear  before 
the  king's  tribunal  at  the  place  and  time  appointed.11 

10  Cfr.  Madelaine,  o.  c.,  p.  431,  who  quotes  Vita  A,  Ch.  XXI. 

11  Ibidem.    Cum  adversus  Norbertum  disputaretur  summum 
Pontificem  hominis  judicio  subdi    .    .    .    non  oportere,  papa 
Innocentius    .    .    .    ,se   exposuit  in   captivitatem   perpetuam 
detrudendum,  si  non  loco  et  tempore  sibi  constituto     .     .     . 
se  presentaret.      "Further-  see  "Sententia  Lotharii  in  Anac- 
letum."    (Pertz  Legum  II,  p.  81.) 


T~he  Embarrassment  of  Anacletus  315 

That  which  Norbert  had  foreseen  now  soon  came  to 
pass.  Anacletus  had  counted  on  a  haughty  refusal  on 
the  part  of  Innocent,  and  thus  was  embarrassed  when  the 
latter  consented.  He  tried  to  have  recourse  to  his  for- 
mer policy  of  postponing  things  in  order  to  gain  time, 
and  of  humoring  King  Lothaire  by  vain  promises.  How- 
ever, public  opinion  could  no  longer  fail  to  recognize  the 
personal  ambition  of  Anacletus;  those  who  had  been 
wavering,  now  admiring  the  noble  conduct  of  Innocent, 
went  over  to  his  party.12 

King  Lothaire  himself,  seeing  clearly  the  drift  of  the 
intrigues  of  Anacletus,  now  lost  all  patience  and  marched 
his  army  to  Rome,  concentrating  his  men  on  a  hill  called 
"Mons  Latronum."  The  Romans,  in  consternation,  and 
destitute  of  succor,  were  unable  to  defend  themselves; 
and  in  their  perplexity  sent  an  embassy  of  peace  to 
Lothaire  to  disarm  his  vengeance,  and  to  offer  him  ad- 
mission into  their  city.  Lothaire  thus  entered  Rome  on 
the  14th  of  April,  1133,13  without  meeting  any  opposi- 
tion, and  mustered  his  troops  on  the  Aventine  Hill, 
while  the  Pope  took  up  his  abode  in  the  palace  of  the 
Lateran.  As  to  the  anti-pope,  continues  the  biogra- 
pher of  St.  Bernard,  he  did  not  hazard  an  attempt  at  re- 
sistance. He  retired  to  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo  with 
his  adherents,  and  remained  master  of  that  quarter  of 
St.  Peter's,  which  he  surrounded  with  fortifications  and 
barricades.  Anacletus  did  not  fail  to  see  how  great  a 


12  Vita  A.  Ibidem.  "Inde  accidit  ut  tergiversatio  Petri 
Leonis  circa  papatum  rugientis  frustaretur.  .  .  ."  Cfr.  Also 
Litterae  Lotharii,  1.  c. 

is  This  date  differs  from  that  given  by  Ratisbonne,  who 
again  differs  from  Otto  of  Frisingen.  That  their  dates  must 
be  incorrect,  subsequent  events  will  prove. 


316  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

check  his  cause  would  receive,  in  case  Lothaire  were  to 
be  crowned  Emperor  by  Pope  Innocent;  for  this  reason 
he  persistenly  refused  to  vacate  St.  Peter's,  where  cor- 
onations had  always  taken  place.  He  moreover  again 
manifested  a  desire  of  entering  into  a  negotiation  with 
Lothaire,  but  the  latter,  in  concert  with  the  Pope, 
"sent  to  him  St.  Bernard  and  St.  Norbert,  the  Arch- 
bishop." 14  But  the  two  servants  of  God  found  the  anti- 
pope  so  hardened  in  pride,  that  they  soon  gave  up  all 
effort  at  reconciliation. 

Norbert,  having  tried  in  vain  to  make  Anacletus  rea- 
lize the  hopelessness  of  his  cause,  and  to  vacate  St. 
Peter's,  now  endeavored  to  induce  Lothaire  to  be  satis- 
fied if  his  coronation  took  place  in  the  Church  of  the 
Lateran  instead  of  in  St.  Peter's.  Although  Lo- 
thaire feared  that  his  enemies  would  find  in  this 
an  excuse  to  declare  his  coronation  of  no  value,  yet 
under  the  circumstances  he  considered  it  best  to  con- 
sent, and  Norbert  at  once  informed  Pope  Innocent  to 
this  effect.  "But  to  Norbert 's  great  disappointment  the 
Pope  refused,  for  the  condition  agreed  upon  for  the 
coronation  was,  that  Anacletus  should  be  driven  from 
Rome,  and  Innocent  placed  on  the  pontifical  throne. ' ' 15 
However,  Norbert  in  his  capacity  as  Chancellor  of  the 
King,  used  his  diplomacy,  and  at  last  succeeded  in  con- 
vincing the  Pope  of  the  reasonableness  of  the  demand. 
Since  Lothaire 's  present  army  was  too  small  to  carry 
out  his  plans,  the  Pope  was  satisfied  with  the  king's 
promise  to  return  later  to  Rome  with  a  larger  force. 
Finally,  preparations  were  made  for  the  solemn  corona- 


i*  Cfr.  Ratisbonne,  o.  c.,  p.  197. 
is  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p:  335. 


The  Coronation  of  Lothaire  317 

tion  of  Lothaire,  on  the  4th  of  June,  in  the  Church  of 
the  Lateran. 

When  the  rumor  of  these  coming  events  reached  the 
ears  of  Anacletus  and  his  adherents,  they  at  once  realized 
their  importance  and  were  furious  with  rage.  Seeing 
that  this  coronation  would  be  their  ruin,  they  did  all  in 
their  power  to  stir  up  the  populace  of  Rome  and  prevent, 
if  possible,  the  proceedings.  The  result  of  their  agitation 
was  that  on  the  day  of  the  coronation,  in  the  midst  of 
the  solemnities,  a  large  number  of  disturbers  tried  to 
invade  the  sacred  edifice  and  prevent  Innocent  from 
crowning  Lothaire.  Not  without  the  greatest  difficulty 
did  the  soldiers  of  the  King  succeed  in  keeping  the  crowd 
at  a  distance,  and  prevent  them  from  committing  mur- 
der and  sacrilege.  However,  at  the  altar  the  corona- 
tion went  on  undisturbed,  and  the  Pope  solemnly  placed 
on  the  head  of  Lothaire  the  crown  of  Charlemagne.  His 
Holiness  likewise  crowned  the  Empress  Richenza.  Bar- 
onius  speaks  of  the  oath  which  the  new  Emperor  took 
before  God  and  His  Vicar,  to  defend  the  Church  and  the 
Pope,  to  protect  the  possessions  of  the  Holy  See  and  to 
recover  those  that  had  been  usurped.16 

The  author  of  the  first  manuscript  life  of  St.  Norbert, 
having  chronicled  these  events,  then  describes  an  inci- 
dent which  was  as  unexpected  as  it  was  compromising, 
especially  for  our  Saint.  "Lothaire  now  being  crowned 
"Emperor,  had  the  bad  taste  to  ask  at  this  particular 
"time,  that  the  Holy  Father  grant  him,  for  the  honor 


16  Baronius  XVIII,  p.  488.  Pertz  "Legum,"  II,  p.  81.  There 
is  still  in  the  palace  of  the  Lateran  a  painting  on  which  is  rep- 
resented Lothaire  receiving  the  crown  from  the  hands  of 
Pope  Innocent. 


318  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

"of  the  empire  and  the  stability  of  the  compact  which 
"he  had  made  with  him,  the  privilege  of  Investiture/717 
Strange  inconsistency  on  the  part  of  a  monarch  who 
but  a  moment  before  swore  on  the  Holy  Gospels  to  de- 
fend at  all  times  the  rights  of  the  Pope  and  the  Bishops ! 
All  present,  and  even  the  Pope  himself,  were  staggered 
by  this  bold  request.  But  before  anyone  present  had 
time  to  raise  his  voice  in  protest  to  this  most  pretentious 
demand,  Norbert  arose,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Em- 
peror, whose  Chancellor  he  was,  and  of  a  number  of 
German  Officers,  fearlessly  addressed  the  Holy  Father 
in  these  words:  "What  do  you  mean  to  do,  0  Father? 
"To  whom  would  you  deliver  the  sheep  entrusted  to 
"your  care,  to  be  torn  to  pieces?  The  Church  which 
"you  have  received  in  freedom,  will  you  reduce  her 
"again  to  slavery?  The  Chair  of -St.  Peter  requires 
"actions  worthy  of  Peter.  I  have  promised  obedience 
' '  indeed  to  Blessed  Peter  and  You  in  the  name  of  Christ ; 
"but  if  you  accede  to  the  demands  now  made  upon  you 
"I  declare  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  Church  that  I 
"gainsay  you,  and  will  oppose  the  measure  you  will 
"take/'18 

The  eyes  of  all  were  fixed  upon  Norbert,  as  he  thus 
boldly  spoke,  and  stood  in  their  midst  like  a  messenger 
from  God  speaking  with  authority.  However,  his  was 
the  last  word  spoken  in  this  unfortunate  affair,  for  the 
Emperor  dared  no  longer  urge  his  unreasonable  request, 
nor  had  the  Pope  any  desire  of  making  so  culpable  a 


17  Vita  A,  Ch.  XXI.  This  same  demand  had  been  made  by 
Lothaire  at  Liege  two  years  before,  but  without  success. 

is  Ibidem.  In  medium  procedens,  presente  imperatore  cum 
multo  milite  "Quid,"  inquit  "Pater  agis?"  .  .  . 


Norbert  Protects  the  Church  319 

concession.  < '  For  Lothaire, ' '  continues  the  same  author, 
' '  feared  God  .  .  .  and  loved  Norbert  as  a  man  sent  from 
heaven,  by  whose  advice  he  had  oftentimes  been  guided, 
and  from  whom  he  daily  received  the  Word  of  God." 
Thus  did  God  on  this  day  protect  His  Church  from  a 
great  calamity,  through  His  servant  Norbert,  and  Pope 
Innocent  himself  was  the  first  to  shower  upon  our  Saint 
numerous  tokens  of  heartfelt  gratitude.  Th,ere  still 
exists  a  Bull  of  Pope  Innocent,  dated  June  4,  the  very 
day  of  the  coronation,  addressed  to  Norbert,  and  in  it 
we  read:  "The  Roman  and  Apostolic  Church  has,  in 

I  i  consequence  of  unmistakable  signs,  favorably  approved 
"of  your  ardent  devotion  and  energy  in  her  times  of 
"trial.     Since  the  time  it  pleased  Divine  Providence  to 
"call  Us,  notwithstanding  Our  unworthiness  and  insuf- 
"ficiency,  to  the  administration  of  the  Holy  See,   an 
"admirable  devotedness  has  shown  forth  more  and  more 
"in  your  person;  and  the  constancy  of  your  faith  and 
"piety  has  become  renowned  not  only  among  the  people 

I 1  near  you,  but  even  among  the  most  remote  nations.  For 
"neither  have  infirmities  nor  promises  nor  threats  pre- 
" vented  you  from  placing  yourself  as  an  unassailable 
"wall  against  the  tyranny  of  Peter  Leonis,  nor  from 
"working  effectively  in  gaining  over  the  King  and  other 
"princes  to  the  obedience  of  St.  Peter.     .     .     .  " 19 

Truly  a  magnificent  testimony  to  the  work  done  by 
our  saintly  Archbishop  in  the  great  struggle  of  the 
Papacy!  And  to  further  reward  Norbert  for  the  great 
services  done  in  the  interest  of  religion,  Pope  Innocent 


19  Cfr.  Muhlbacher  in  his  "Die  streitige  Papstwahl  des 
Jahres  1130"  (Innsbruck  1876).  Also  Acta  SS.  T.  XX.  Ap- 
pend, p.  50. 


320  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

by  this  same  document  raised  Norbert  to  the  dignity  of 
Primate  of  Germany.20 

Thus  was  peace  again  restored  to  the  Church,  and  the 
two  great  powers,  Church  and  State,  were  once  more  con- 
solidated. Innocent,  for  the  moment  at  least,  resided  in 
Rome,  and  Lothaire  had  been  crowned  Emperor,  protest- 
ing his  fidelity  to  the  cause  of  Innocent.  The  Emperor 
decided  to  leave  at  once  the  Eternal  City  with  his  troops, 
and  recrossing  the  Alps  he  returned  into  Germany,  in 
order  to  set  before  the  eyes  of  the  princes  of  the  empire 
the  glorious  advantages  he  had  gained.  On  the  8th  of  Sep- 
tember he  reached  Wurzburg,  where  the  Sovereigns  of 
Germany,  who  were  in  astonishment  at  the  almost  mirac- 
ulous success  of  his  intrepid  undertaking,  encircled  him 
with  their  homage.  Fortune  having  favored  his  arms, 
they  all  magnified  his  valor;  and  his  most  implacable 
enemies  dared  not  disturb  the  unanimous  concert  of  ap- 
plause. Norbert,  who  at  this  time  seems  to  have  been 
very  delicate  in  health,  for  he  had  suffered  much  from 
the  Italian  climate,  was  with  the  Emperor  on  his  return 
journey. 

Among  those  who  had  come  to  Wurzburg  to  welcome 
the  Emperor  were  the  newly  elected  bishops  of  Augs- 
burg and  Regensburg.  The  latter  had  been  consecrated 
without  the  knowledge  of  Lothaire,  which  was  not  in 
accordance  with  the  decisions  of  the  Concordat  of 
Worms.  Norbert,  however,  used  his  influencce  with  the 


20  in  regard  to  this  Primacy  of  Norbert  see  Madelaine,  p.  438. 
He  quotes  Acta  SS.  T.  XX.  p.  914.  Append.  46-52.  "De  Pri- 
matu  Germaniae  Magdeburgensis  Ecclesiae  .  .  .  Cfr.  also 
DuPr^  Ann.  breves  Ann.  1133  "Pater  Norbertus.  .  .  acci- 
pit  laborum  praemium  ab^  Innocentio  Germaniae  ecclesiarum 
Primatiam." 


Norbert,  the  Humble  Saint  321 

Emperor  and  succeeded  in  inducing  him  to  confirm  this 
election.  This,  no  doubt,  meant  a  great  sacrifice  for 
Lothaire,  especially  since  the  new  appointment  had  come 
about  through  the  influence  of  his  competitor,  Conrad; 
but  Lothaire  yielded  for  the  sake  of  peace  for  the 
Church.21 

In  order  to  show  how  Norbert,  notwithstanding  his 
numerous  occupations  of  a  worldly  nature,  remained 
nevertheless  a  man  of  true  humility  and  prayer,  a  mirac- 
ulous incident  is  related  by  the  different  biographers, 
which  occurred  in  Home  when  the  army  was  about  to 
undertake  its  return  journey.  One  of  the  soldiers  was 
possessed  by  the  evil  spirit,  and  before  leaving  Rome  his 
companions  brought  him  before  the  Holy  Father,  and  en- 
treated him  to  deliver  their  comrade  from  this  woeful 
torment.  But  Pope  Innocent  sent  the  men  to  Norbert, 
whom  they  found  in  the  church,  humbly  praying  before 
the  altar.  Deeply  moved  at  the  sight  of  the  sick  man,  he 
said  to  them:  "Let  us  all  with  a  humble  and  contrite 
"heart  approach  the  Lord,  and  beseech  Him  to  be  mer- 
"ciful  to  this  unfortunate  man."  All  immediately  be- 
gan to  pray,  and  the  Saint  remained  in  supplication 
from  noon  until  evening,  and  finally  obtained  through 
the  prayers  of  all,  the  deliverance  of  the  possessed  sol- 
dier; "for  in  the  evening,  with  a  fearful  noise  the  evil 
"spirit  left  him. "  The  man  fell  exhausted  into  the  arms 
of  his  companions,  but  after  a  refreshing  sleep  com- 
pletely recovered  his  former  strength.  The  Saint  then 
exhorted  him  to  make  his  confession,  and  prescribed  for 
him,  both  as  a  penance  for  his  past  sins  and  as  an  act 
of  thanksgiving  for  his  deliverance,  to  abstain  for  a  num- 


21  Cfr.  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  344. 


322  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

ber  of  days  from  a  certain  kind  of  food,  remarking  that 
if  he  dared  break  these  rules  of  abstinence,  he  would 
certainly  fall  back  into  the  same  misfortune.  The  sol- 
dier returned  with  the  army  to  Germany,  and  there,  hav- 
ing broken  the  rules  laid  down  by  the  Saint,  became 
again  possessed  by  Satan.  They  brought  him  again  be- 
fore Norbert,  and  he  was  for  a  second  time  released 
through  the  mercies  of  (rod  and  the  ministry  of  the 
Saint.22 

22  yua  A,  Ch.  XXI. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
THE   DEATH   OF  ST.  NORBERT. 

Finis  adest  vitae,  finis  Norberte  laborum, 
Ad  sua  Te  Christus  regna  vocat, 

Thy  combat  o'er,  thy  work  is  done. 
The  arms  of  Mary  and  her  Son 
Are  clasped  around  thee.    .    .    . 

During  his  absence  Norbert  had  entrusted  the  care  of 
his  Church  to  the  Benedictine  Abbot  of  Bergen,  who 
had  with  great  prudence  and  wisdom  continued  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  archdiocese  according  to  the  views  and 
principles  of  the  Saint.  The  year  1133  was  drawing  to  a 
close  when  Norbert,  physically  weak  and  exhausted, 
reached  his  episcopal  city.  The  fatigues  of  the  journey, 
the  great  heat  of  the  Italian  summer,  added  to  his  au- 
stere mortifications,  had  greatly  aggravated  the  infirm- 
ities of  the  Saint,  and  thereafter  he  was  continually  sub- 
ject to  acute  bodily  pains.  The  great  desire  he  had  of 
being  once  more  in  the  midst  of  his  flock,  seemed,  how- 
ever, to  make  him  unconscious  of  pain.  This  longing 
was  at  last  gratified  and  the  people  of  Magdeburg  greatly 
rejoiced  to  see  their  beloved  Archbishop  again.  They 
had  reason  indeed  to  be  proud  of  their  beloved  Bishop 
who  now  was  proclaimed  the  Founder  of  a  Religious 
Order,  the  heroic  Reformer  of  clergy  and  people,  the 
Liberator  of  the  Church,  and  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ger- 
man Empire.  He  had  been  laden  with  honors  by  Pope 
Innocent  and  by  their  Emperor,  and  his  name  was  cele- 
brated throughout  the  Empire.  Still  these  good  people 

323 


324  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

must  have  honored  him  above  all  as  the  simple  and  holy 
religious,  the  Saint  through  whose  instrumentality  God 
performed  miracles.  Says  the  early  chronicler:1  "Hardly 
"had  the  Saint  arrived,  when  the  people  brought  before 
"him  a  man  possessed  by  the  evil  spirit.  In  spite  of 
"repeated  exorcisms  by  others,  Satan  still  refused  to 
"abandon  his  victim.  Though  he  boasted  that  he  would 
"never  depart,  not  even  at  the  command  of  the  Arch- 
"  bishop,  no  sooner  had  the  unfortunate  man  been 
"brought  before  Norbert,  than  the  devil  left  him.  In 
"fact,  while  the  Saint  was  blessing  water,  before  he  was 
"able  to  sprinkle  the  holy  water  over  the  unfortunate 
"man,  the  evil  spirit  had  departed.  This  incident  nat- 
"urally  intensified  the  love  and  veneration  of  the  peo- 
"ple  for  their  saintly  Archbishop." 

It  is  beyond  doubt  that  for  a  long  time  Norbert  had 
been  regarded  by  the  people  as  the  great  Thaumaturgus 
of  his  days.  He  had  repeatedly  triumphed  over  Satan, 
and,  as  observed,  even  dumb  animals  obeyed  his  voice. 
It  now  pleased  God  to  show  forth  Norbert  7s  great  sanc- 
tity through  his  power  over  death.  The  power  God  had 
given  at  one  time  to  St.  Martin,  and  which  in  later  days 
He  was  to  give  to  St.  Dominic,  He  now  gave  to  our  dear 
St.  Norbert. 

One  day  the  people  brought  before  him  the  corpses 
of  three  men,  begging  Norbert  in  the  name  of  the  des- 
titute relatives,  to  bring  them  back  to  life.  Having  in- 
voked the  help  of  Almighty  God,  he  bent  over  the  dead 
bodies,  and  commanded  in  the  name  of  God  that  life 
should  return  to  them.  His  prayer  was  heard ;  the  three 
men  rose  up  and  walked,  and  Norbert  restored  them  to 


Vita  B,  Appended.  Can.  Capp.  Ch.  X. 


SAINT  NORBERT  RAISES   THE  DEAD   TO  LIFE. 


Kollektion  Hanfstaengl  Miinchen 

Kgl.  Pinakothek. 
974.     Pierre  Subleyras 


The  Foundation  of  the  Abbey  of  Berne          325 

their  relatives.2  This  fact,  chronicled  by  many  contem- 
porary writers,  was  ridiculed  by  Abelard,  as  we  observed 
above;  but  his  ridicule  only  makes  it  the  more  incon- 
testable. 

By  Christmas,  Norbert's  state  of  health  was  so  much 
improved  that  he  was  able  to  go  to  Cologne  and  confer 
the  Pallium  upon  the  new  Archbishop.  The  Emperor 
and  his  Court  also  assisted  at  this  solemnity,  and  had 
left  for  Aachen  the  day  before  Epiphany,  at  which  time 
messengers  came  from  the  Countess  of  Holland,  an- 
nouncing that  her  son  Floris  had  been  murdered.  "We 
mention  this  incident  here,  because  the  murder  of  Floris 
led  indirectly  to  the  founding  of  the  abbey  of  Berne,3  the 
Mother- Abbey  of  our  American  foundation  in  Wiscon- 
sin. 

Fulco  of  Berne,  who  with  the  Counts  of  Kuik  had  been 
the  cause  of  the  murder,  changed  his  castle  into  a  mon- 
astery by  way  of  doing  penance  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 
The  monks  he  introduced  were  quite  lax  in  the  observ- 
ance of  their  rules,  and  thus  it  happened  that  six  months 
later,  Fulco  invited  the  Premonstratensians  into  his 


Vita  B.  Notationes  Dni  Hertoghe,  p.  429-434.  Dupr4.  An- 
nal.  Ord.  Praem.  (MS.  of  the  Library  of  Laon.)  Annal.  breves 
ann.  1134 — "miraculis  illustris  triumque  mortuorum  suscita- 
tor  magnificus.  .  .  .  Also  De  Waghenaere,  p.  66. 

3  VandenElsen  on  p.  345,  observes,  speaking  of  the  transfer 
of  the  abbey  of  Berne  to  the  Premonstratensians,  that  the 
Prior,  Frederic  of  Grevenrath,  had  accompanied  the  Emperor 
Lothaire  on  his  Italian  expedition.  The  monks  and  the 
founder,  Fulco,  had  made  use  of  his  absence  to  lodge  com- 
plaints against  his  ill-government.  When  Frederic  heard  of 
this  he  resigned  his  charge,  and  since  Norbert  was  at  court 
at  the  time,  the  monastery  was  offered  to  him  and  his  canons. 
Premonstratensians  of  Marienweerd  were  at  once  introduced. 


326  History  of  Saint  Norbcrt 

castle.  Berne  was  therefore  the  last  abbey  founded  by 
Norbert  himself. 

The  Emperor  was  still  at  Aachen  when  Norbert  sub- 
mitted to  him  for  approval,  the  Charter  of  the  abbey  of 
Clarholt,  which  abbey  however,  had  been  founded  and 
endowed  the  year  before  by  Rudolph  of  Stenford,  and 
was  situated  in  the  diocese  of  Osnabruck.  Lothaire  con- 
firmed the  foundation  most  willingly,  and  the  Charter 
was  signed  by  the  Emperor,  by  Cardinal  Gerard  and  by 
Anselm,  Bishop  of  Havelberg.4 

Meanwhile,  Norbert 's  health  was  gradually  declining ; 
he  remained  in  the  service  of  the  Emperor  until  the  be- 
ginning of  the  month  of  March,  1134,  since  Lothaire  re- 
fused to  do  anything  of  importance  without  the  advice 
of  Norbert.  In  the  beginning  of  Lent,  however,  he  de- 
clined all  participation  in  State  affairs,  and  Lothaire 
was  obliged  to  go  to  the  Saint  and  find  him  in  Magdeburg, 
since  he  was  no  longer  able  to  make  the  journey.  When, 
at  Easter,  Lothaire  sent  messengers  to  Norbert  request- 
ing him  to  come  to  Halberstadt,  the  Saint  was  on  his  bed 
of  suffering,  where  for  four  months  he  awaited  the  hour 
of  death.5 

High  fevers  were  undermining  what  little  strength 
remained  in  Norbert 's  emaciated  body;  but  though  a 

*  This  Charter  deserves  special  mention  since  in  it  we  read 
that  it  was  delivered  "by  the  hand  of  Norbert,  Archbishop 
of  Magdeburg  and  Archchancellor  of  the  Empire."  Lothaire 
confirmed  the  same,  in  1134,  "in  favor  of  men  serving  the  Lord 
"according  to  the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine."  Cfr.  Vanden  Elsen, 
p.  347,  Madelaine,  p.  441,  who  further  quotes  Hugo  "Annales 
Ordinis  Praemonstr.  T.  I.  Clarholtum,  Probat.  CCCXCIV- 

cccxcv. 

5  Vita  B,  Ch.  LII.     Per  spatium  quatuor  mensium.     . 


Norbert's  Anxiety  for  His  Diocese  327 

burning  fever  robbed  him  of  his  physical  strength,  his 
mind  was  ever  clear  and  alert,  and  from  his  bed  of  pain 
he  ceased  not  to  direct  and  look  after  the  welfare  of  his 
diocese.  Feeling  his  end  to  be  near,  this  faithful  servant 
of  God  took  special  pains  to  regulate  the  interests  of  his 
Master.  "Still,"  adds  the  biographer,  "Lent  must  have 
"seemed  terribly  long  to  the  Saint  of  such  astonishing 
"activity!  His  great  and  only  consolation  was  the  fre- 
' '  quent  reception  of  Holy  Communion. ' '  6 

At  last  Holy  Week  approached,  bringing  with  it  the 
remembrance  of  all  the  Savior  had  suffered.  The  Arch- 
bishop made  a  great  effort  to  forget  his  own  suffering; 
he  gently  dismissed  all  those  that  were  around  him,  and, 
notwithstanding  their  loud  protestations,  went  once  more 
to  his  Cathedral,  there  to  perform  the  services  of  Holy 
Thursday.  He  would  have  spent  the  whole  night  there 
in  memory  of  Jesus'  agony  in  the  Garden,  but  his  physi- 
cal state  rendered  it  impossible.  Utterly  exhausted, 
he  returned  to  his  palace.  Still,  supported  by  the  energy 
of  his  strong  will,  the  Saint  rose  once  more  from  his  bed 
of  pain,  on  Easter  Sunday,  and  celebrated  the  Holy  Sac- 
rifice, which  was  to  be  the  last  Mass  offered  by  St.  Nor- 
bert.  Completely  exhausted  and  suffering  untold  pain, 
the  Saint  was  carried  to  his  bed,  never  to  rise  from  it 
again.7 

From  now  on  his  condition  from  day  to  day  grew 
worse;  still  Norbert,  though  his  head  was  deluged  in 
pain,  refused  to  spare  himself,  and  not  being  able  to 

e  Cfr.  Acta  SS.  T.  XX.  Chron.  Magdeb.,  p.  53. 

7  Winter.  "Chron.  Gratiae  Dei,"  p.  334.  Excussa  modicum 
aegritudine,  Chrisma  consecravit,  et  die  sancta  .  .  .  divina 
celebravit. 


328  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

rise,  he  desired  his  brethren  to  gather  around  him,  that 
he  might  give  them  his  last  instructions.  In  these  his 
last  moments  he  urged  upon  them  the  practice  of  faith 
and  patience  especially,  two  virtues  which  all  during  his 
life  he  had  most  cherished.  "As  when  striking  flint 
"with  steel,  you  thereby  obtain  sparks  of  fire,  so  also, 
"does  lively  faith  striking  a  heart  of  stone,  produce 
"sparks  of  divine  love.  ...  Do  you  suffer  persecution? 
"be  patient.  Are  you  better  than  your  Master?"  He 
then  continued  to  comfort  them  and  to  exhort  them  with 
a  smiling  countenance  to  practice  these  virtues. 

Blessed  Hugh,  the  General  of  the  Order,  was  sent  for 
upon  the  request  of  the  Saint.  Somehow,  he  was  pre- 
vented from  making  the  long  journey  from  Premontre 
to  Magdeburg.  Madelaine  observes  that  Blessed  Hugh 
could  not  believe  that  the  hour  was  so  near.  On  the 
other  hand,  Evermode,  who  for  a  long  time  had  been 
Norbert's  constant  companion,  never  left  the  sickroom 
for  a  moment.  He  had  always  been  Norbert's  most  be- 
loved disciple,  and  none  more  closely  resembled  the  Saint 
in  character  than  he  did.  As  for  the  absence  of  Hugh, 
the  biographer  says  that  Norbert  felt  assured  that 
the  future  of  the  Order  was  safe  in  his  hands,  and  thus 
when  the  brethren  seemed  overwhelmed  with  grief  at 
his  departure,  and  asked  with  the  disciples  of  St.  Mar- 
tin: "Why,  0  Father,  dost  thou  leave  us?"  he  spoke 
to  them  of  the  great  virtues  of  his  first  disciple,  Hugh. 

The  future  of  his  diocese  caused  Norbert  far  more 
anxiety  than  the  future  of  his  Order.  During  eight  years 
he  had  worked  incessantly  for  reform,  and  undoubtedly 
he  accomplished  great  things,  notwithstanding  the  fiercest 
opposition.  Recall  but  his  captivity  in  the  tower — his 
flight  from,  Magdeburg— the  hatred  many  of  the  nobles, 


Norbert  Learns  of  His  Successor  329 

in  the  beginning  especially,  bore  him.  What  was  to  be- 
come of  his  work  after  he  was  gone  ?  "Would  all  his  labor 
be  really  in  vain  ?  The  Saint,  however,  considered  these 
thoughts  but  temptations  of  the  evil  one,  and  at  once 
dismissed  them  from  his  mind  as  sinful,  as  showing  a 
lack  of  confidence  in  Divine  Providence.  Still  his  mind 
was  at  times  disturbed  on  this  point,  so  it  pleased  God 
to  set  his  mind  entirely  at  rest. 

The  Emperor,  as  well  as  the  Canons  of  the  Cathedral, 
assured  Norbert  that  after  his  death  the  diocese  was  to 
be  confided  to  the  care  of  Conrad  of  Querfurt,  a  saintly 
man,  who  had  received  his  priestly  ordination  from  Nor- 
bert himself.  This  knowledge  greatly  pleased  the  Saint. 
He  sent  for  Conrad  at  once  and,  like  a  dying  father  who 
is  about  to  entrust  the  care  of  his  household  to  his  eldest 
son,  thus  also  did  Norbert  explain  conditions  to  Conrad 
and  give  him  wise  counsel  as  to  the  government  of  the 
diocese.  He  further  recommended  to  him  in  a  special 
way  a  young  community  of  Premonstratensians  in  the 
abbey  ' '  Gottesgnade, ' '  which  abbey  had  a  great  future 
before  it. 

Meanwhile  his  illness  increased,  and  the  Saint,  fully 
realizing  his  condition,  asked  to  receive  the  last  Sacra- 
ments, which  were  administered  to  him  by  Bishop  An- 
selm,  who  had  been  constantly  at  the  Saint's  bedside. 
Norbert  received  the  Body  of  Our  Lord  with  extraordi- 
nary piety  and  fervor.  With  the  Holy  Unction  it  seemed 
as  if  a  new  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  had  entered  his 
soul,  and,  regaining  for  a  moment  his  former  strength, 
he  once  more  addressed  his  disciples  in  a  clear  and 
distinct  voice.  This  was  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  June 
3,  1134. 

Still  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  he  began  sink- 


330  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

ing  so  rapidly  that  all  present  could  see  that  death,  in  a 
very  short  time,  would  rob  the  diocese  of  its  Archbishop, 
and  the  brethren  of  a,  loving  father.  Bathed  in  tears,  the 
brethren  began  reciting  the  prayers  for  the  dying,  but 
his  hour  was  not  yet  come.  The  Saint  lingered  till 
Wednesday,  when  finally,  in  the  full  possession  of  his 
senses,  he  gave  his  last  blessing  to  the  Archdiocese  and 
his  Order,  and  then  invoking  the  Holy  Names  of  Jesus, 
Mary,  Joseph,  Norbert  peacefully  expired,  casting  a  last 
glance  of  angelic  sweetness  towards  heaven.  c '  Subvenitej 
Sancti  Dei;  occurrite  Angeli  Domini  .  .  .  "  thus  the 
brethren  prayed,  while  the  Saints  were  conducting  his 
soul  to  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.8 

Then  the  fulness  of  fruition 
Came  at  last.    The  combat  o'er, 
Norbert  gazes  on  the  vision 
Changeless  on  the  golden  shore. 

The  Saint  died  on  the  sixth  day  of  June,  1134,  in  the 
fifth  year  of  the  Pontificate  of  Innocent  II — the  ninth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Lothaire.  The  Saint  had  lived  54 
years,  nineteen  of  which  had  been  devoted  to  a  strict  life 
of  penitence,  eighteen  in  the  apostolic  ministry.  He  had 
been  Archbishop  during  seven  years,  ten  months  and 
twenty  days. 

The  brethren  stood  weeping  around  the  corpse,  while 
the  sad  news  spread  through  the  city  of  Magdeburg. 
Though  the  tidings  were  not  unexpected,  still  the  peo- 
ple were  all  profoundly  touched,  and  hastened  in  great 

sActa  SS.  T.  XX.  1.  c.  "In  confessione  nominis  Christ! 
Vita  B,  Ch.  LIT.  Cum  omni  integritate  sensus  sui,  astantibus 
benedictione  data.  .  .  .  Cfr.  also  Pertz  Script.  XII,  p.  451. 


SAINT  NORBERT'S   CHAPEL 


Abbey  of  Strahov   (near  Prague). 
Here  the  Saint's  body  is  kept. 


A  Dispute  About  the  Remains  of  Saint  Norbert  331 

numbers  to  the  episcopal  palace.  "Alas!"  exclaims  a 
Saxon  historian  of  the  time,  "the  universal  law  of  death 
has  taken  him  away  from  our  midst  .  .  .  him  the  great 
Archbishop,  the  eminent  preacher,  the  man  great  in 
words  and  in  works,  the  founder  of  numerous  monas- 
teries, the  great  apostle  and  propagator  of  our  holy  re- 
ligion, the  fearless  defender  of  the  Catholic  Pope,  Inno- 
cent, the  irreconcilable  adversary  of  the  schismatic,  Peter 
Leonis!  He  has  been  taken  away  from  his  Order,  his 
Diocese,  the  Empire,  the  Church ! '  '9 

Since  the  Saint  before  dying  had  confided  the  care  of 
his  body  to  his  beloved  disciple,  Evermode,  the  latter 
began  at  once  to  make  preparations  for  a  proper  burial. 
However,  a  serious  dispute  soon  arose  as  to  where  the 
sacred  remains  were  to  be  interred.  First,  there  were 
the  Canons  of  the  Cathedral,  who  demanded  that  the 
body  of  their  Archbishop  should  be  buried  in  the  Cathe- 
dral. On  the  other  hand,  the  Premonstratensians  of  St. 
Mary's  quite  naturally  insisted  that  the  body  of  their 
holy  Founder  should  find  a  last  resting  place  in  their 
church.  For  a  while  it  seemed  impossible  to  come  to 
any  agreement. 

For  six  days  the  remains  of  our  dear  Saint  were  daily 
carried  from  one  church  to  another,  where  amidst  a 
great  concourse  of  people  Masses  were  daily  celebrated, 
and  the  solemnities  of  the  "  Absolution "  repeated.  To 
the  people  this  very  procession  meant  rather  the  venera- 
tion of  the  relics  of  a  Saint  than  a  funeral  procession, 
especially  after  they  noticed  that,  notwithstanding  the 


9  Cfr.  Pertz  Script.  XII.  Sigeb.  Contin.  Praem.,  p.  451.     Van- 
denElsen,  p.  355;  Madelaine,  p.  450. 


332  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

excessive  heat,  the  corpse  did  not  show  the  least  sign  of 
corruption.     On  the  contrary, 

Aemula  dum  sapro  certant  de  pignore  Templa, 
Coelesti  semper  Corpus  o.dore  fragrat. 

Meanwhile,  the  Canons  of  the  Cathedral  and  of  St. 
Mary's  had  agreed  on  having  their  difficulty  solved  by 
the  Emperor  Lothaire.  Each  sent  deputies  to  Merzburg, 
in  Swabia,  where  at  that  time  the  Emperor  was  holding 
his  court.  Evermode  was  one  of  the  deputies  of  St. 
Mary 's,  and  he  pleaded  with  such  energy  in  favor  of  the 
Premonstratensians,  that  Lothaire  decided  in  favor  of 
St.  Mary's. 

According  to  the  Chronicles  of  Magdeburg  the  solemn 
obsequies  took  place  on  Monday,  the  llth  of  June.  Sev- 
eral of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  Empire,  who  at 
the  time  were  assisting  at  the  Diet  of  Merzburg,  came  to 
assist  at  the  Saint 's  burial.  Among  these  were  the  Duke 
Henry  of  Bavaria,  the  Margraves  Conrad  of  Misnie, 
Henry  of  Glogau,  Albrecht  of  Nord  Marche,  and  the 
Landgrave  Louis  of  Thuringen.10  Several  German 
writers  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  Emperor  himself 
came  from  Merzburg  to  assist  at  the  solemnity.  There 
were  also  present  Cardinal  Gerard,  the  Archbishop  of 
Mainz,  and  the  Bishops  of  Halberstadt,  Hildesheim, 
Naumburg,  Merzburg  and  Meissen.  An  immense  multi- 
tude from  the  surrounding  country  had  come  to  Magde- 
burg to  tender  a  last  tribute  of  respect  to  their  beloved 
Archbishop.  The  three  suffragan  Bishops,  Godebald, 
Ludolph  and  Ansel  m,  performed  the  solemn  rites,  "and, " 


10  Winter.      The    Premonstratensians    of    the    12th    century. 
Ch.  III. 


The  Last  Resting  Place  of  Saint  Norlert         333 

adds  the  biographer,11  "the  abundant  tears  of  all  present 
spoke  louder  than  the  most  eloquent  funeral  sermon." 
The  corpse  was  buried  in  the  nave  of  the  Church  of 
St.  Mary,  before  the  altar  of  the  Holy  Cross.  The  Saint's 
body  was  vested  in  full  archiepiscopal  ornature,  namely, 
in  Cope,  Pallium  and  Stole,  Mitre,  Ring  and  Crozier. 
A  few  years  later  the  Canons  decided  to  transfer  the 
body  to  the  sanctuary,  and  place  it  before  the  High 
Altar.  To  their  unspeakable  joy,  they  found  then  that 
the  body  had  still  preserved  its  freshness  of  color,  and 
it  seemed  to  them  as  if  the  Saint  were  but  sleeping.  A 
sweet-smelling  odor  was  exhaled  from:  the  body,  which,  in 
the  words  of  Bl.  Hugh,  manifested  the  glory  of  this  tem- 
ple of  the  Holy  G-host  in  heaven.  The  brethren  now  placed 
a  marble  slab  on  the  grave  of  their  beloved  Father.  The 
following  words  were  engraved  on  it  in  letters  of  gold: 

HERE,  UNDER  THIS  MARBLE,  RESTS  NORBERT,  BY  THE 
GRACE  OF  GOD  ARCHBISHOP  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  MAGDE- 
BURG, FOUNDER  OF  THE  ORDER  OF  PREMONTRE,  AND  RE- 
STORER OF  THIS  MONASTERY.  HE  DIED  IN  THE  YEAR  OF 
OUR  LORD,  1134,  ON  THE  SIXTH  DAY  OF  JuNE.12 

"Mirabilis  Deus  in  Sanctis  Suis."  As  God  had  sin- 
gularly blessed  the  birth  and  the  life  of  our  Saint,  so 
He  also  made  the  death  of  His  faithful  servant  glorious 
in  the  sight  of  men.  Immediately  after  his  death  the 
Saint,  clad  in  white  and  holding  an  olive  branch  in  his 
hand,  appeared  to  one  of  the  religious  who  at  that  mo- 
ment happened  to  be  on  one  of  the  granges  of  the  abbey 
of  Premontre.  The  brother  asked  with  timidity:  "Fa- 

11  Chron.  Magdeb.    Tenckhoff,  p.  42. 

12  Le   Paige   Biblioth.    Ord.    Praem.,    p.    401;    also   Annalea 
breves,  p.  7. 


334  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

ther,  whence  have  you  come  and  whither  are  you  going  ? ' ' 
To  this  the  Saint  replied  that  he  came  from  heaven  and 
that  he  was  going  to  transplant  the  green  olive  branch, 
the  symbol  of  pea'ce  and  victory,  in  the  house  of  his 
poverty.  By  this  name  the  Saint  always  had  loved  to 
call  his  dear  abbey  of  Premontre.  When  afterwards  it 
was  found  that  this  apparition  had  taken  place,  not  only 
on  the  day,  but  at  the  very  hour  that  the  Saint  had  died 
in  Magdeburg,  great  importance  was  attached  to  it.13 

Some  days  later  another  religious,  this  time  one  of  the 
priests,  also  had  a  vision,  and  at  once  recognized  his 
saintly  father.  Little  by  little  he  saw  Norbert's  figure 
change  into  a  lily  of  remarkable  whiteness,  which  was 
then  carried  to  heaven  by  angels. 

Lilia   Candorem,  fructum   dant  pads   Olivae, 
Has  Norbertus  ovans,  Angelus  ilia  tulit. 

This  religious  spoke  at  once  of  this  vision  to  the  prior 
of  the  monastery,  and  was  told  to  mark  down  the  exact 
day  and  hour.  Afterwards  these  were  found  to  corre- 
spond exactly  with  the  day  and  hour  on  which  the  burial 
had  taken  place.14 

The  consolation  of  a  similar  vision  was  also  granted  to 
Bl.  Hugh.  He  saw  his  beloved  Father  seated  in  a  palace 
of  exquisite  beauty  and  splendor.  Prostrate  before  him, 
Hugh  asked  the  Saint  regarding  the  future  happiness 
of  his  own  soul.  Norbert  then  raised  him  from  the 
ground  and,  embracing  him  most  tenderly,  said:  "My 
"son,  you  ask  me  something  difficult  to  explain;  but  as 
"God  opens  the  door  to  those  that  knock,  come  and  sit 


is  yita  B,  Ch.  LIV. 
14  Ibidem. 


A  Vision  of  Blessed  Hugh  335 

"at  my  side."  Then  when  both  were  seated  the  Saint 
continued:  "I  am  in  peace  and  in  repose.  Take  cour- 
tage and  work  with  confidence  in  the  service  of  God. 
"You  also  will  one  day  enter  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord." 
He  then  disappeared,  leaving  his  disciple  enraptured 
and  consoled.15 

Let  all  who  believe  in  miracles  and  visions  believe 
these  with  that  same  simplicity  of  faith  with  which  they 
were  first  written  down.  For,  having  related  the  above, 
Bl.  Hugh  adds:  "After  this  none  of  the  faithful  will 
doubt  the  beatitude  of  the  man  who  lived  as  we  have 
related,  and  who,  after  his  death,  by  the  Providence  of 
God,  gave  such  unmistakable  signs  of  his  happiness.  You 
all  may  believe  what  I  have  written,  for  I  take  God  to 
witness  that  I  am  speaking  the  truth.7'  Bl.  Hugh 
further  appeals  to  his  own  experience  and  the  veracity 
of  eye  and  ear  witnesses,  so  that  little  room  can  be  left 
to  doubt  the  sanctity  and  beatitude  of  Norbert. 

From  the  very  time  of  Norbert 's  burial  his  holiness 
was  proclaimed  by  the  "Vox  populi."  When  shortly 
after  the  new  Archbishop,  Conrad  of  Querfurt,  drew  up, 
in  accordance  with  his  promise  to  Norbert,  the  Charter 
for  the  foundation  of  the  abbey  ' '  Gottesgnade, ' '  he  spoke 
of  Norbert  as  "Blessed,"  and  with  the  consent  of  nu- 
merous Bishops,  Norbert,  from  that  time  on,  received  in 
particular  churches  the  "cultus"  of  a  Saint.  Moreover 
it  pleased  the  Almighty  to  manifest  the  glory  of  His 
servant  by  making  his  tomb  glorious.  Many  miracles 
were  wrought  over  the  Saint's  tomb  through  his  inter- 
cession, and  Norbert 's  name  was  invoked  throughout 
Saxony.  The  brethren  of  St.  Mary's  kept  a  book  in 


15  Ibidem. 


336  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

which  were  recorded  the  numerous  miracles,  and  they 
also  wrote  the  Saint's  biography  within  six  years  after 
his  death.  Alas !  these  writings  are  lost  to  us.  The  fire, 
which  according  to 'the  Saxon  Chronicler,  destroyed  the 
Provostry  of  St.  Mary,  consumed  also  this  register,  and 
most  of  the  personal  writings  of  the  Saint.  From  what 
people  remembered  and  a  few  scattered  documents,  a 
new  register  was  made,  to  be  used  later  at  the  time  of 
Norbert  's  canonization. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
TRANSLATION  OF  RELICS. 

Divorum  cineres  dum  Islebica  turlia  profanat, 
Tu  procul  antiqua  de  Statione  fugis, 
Inter  Virgineos  recipit  Te  Praga  Penates: 
Lilia  Stare  loco  num,  meliore  queantf 

When  in  later  years  the  relics  of  St.  Norbert  were  exposed 
to  profanation  in  Magdeburg,  they  were  translated  with  great 
solemnity  to  the  abbey  of  Strahov,  near  Prague. 

The  great  diversity  of  events  related  in  this  history  of 
St.  Norbert,  have  manifested  the  beautiful  and  sterling 
qualities  and  strong  virtues  of  our  dear  Saint.  He  comes 
down  to  us  in  history  as  Norbert  the  Great,  and  Norbert 
the  Saint,  and  a  short  retrospect  of  his  life  will  show 
how  well  merited  are  the  titles. 

We  remember  the  young  man  surpassing  his  fellow 
students  at  the  University  of  Cologne.  His  inborn  elo- 
quence, his  wide  knowledge  of  literature — sacred  and 
profane — his  noble  birth  and  genteel  appearance,  and 
above  all  his  quick  and  penetrating  intellect  had  made 
him  at  the  age  of  twenty,  a  veritable  leader  among  men. 
At  the  court  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne,  as  well  as  at 
the  court  of  the  Emperor,  Norbert  was  the  favorite  of  all 
and  was  everywhere  applauded.  Of  a  firm  will  and  an 
impetuous  nature,  he  gave  himself  over  to  the  world  with 
an  ardor  and  zeal  worthy  of  greater  objects. 

By  a  miracle  God  changed  the  worldly  young  man 
into  a  second  Paul,  and  with  his  characteristic  ardor  and 
impetuosity  he  entered  into  God 's  service.  He  bade  f are- 

337 


338  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

well  to  the  world  and  its  allurements,  and  retired  to  a 
monastery  to  learn  heavenly  wisdom  from  the  image  of 
Christ  Crucified,  and  the  illustrious  and  saintly  abbot 
Conon.  He  was  ordained  " Priest  of  the  Most  High"  and 
at  once  strove  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  make  others 
share  in  his  newly  found  happiness.  Neither  ridicule, 
nor  sarcasm,  nor  abuse  could  withhold  him  from  point- 
ing out  to  others  the  very  mistakes  he  himself  had  once 
made.  He  became  the  great  ' l  Ref ormer. ' '  His  life  of 
penitence  subdued  the  striking  appearance  of  the  bril- 
liant courtier,  and  he  went  forth  preaching  penance  by 
word  and  example.  Led  by  Divine  Providence,  he  left 
his  native  land  and,  in  a  deserted  and  marshy  valley, 
found  the  realization  of  his  life's  ideals.  Many  devoted 
men  gathered  around  him,  and  Norbert,  like  a  grain  of 
wheat  apparently  dry  and  dead,  soon,  under  the  influence 
of  Divine  light  and  love,  sent  forth  shoots  of  inexhaust- 
ible fecundity.  A  new  Order  was  founded,  an  Order  of 
priests,  practicing  at  the  same  time  monastic  exercises 
and  priestly  functions.  Foundations  were  made  in 
France,  Belgium  and  Germany,  and  a  new  era  of  true 
religious  fervor  had  been  inaugurated. 

He  was  led  by  Divine  Providence  to  the  archbishopric 
of  Magdeburg,  and  again  went  heart  and  soul  into  the 
work  before  him.  No  opposition,  be  it  calumny  or  even 
bodily  injury,  could  make  him  lose  sight,  for  a  single 
moment,  of  the  ideal  he  had  placed  before  himself,  the 
work  of  "Reform."  His  wonderful  conversion,  his- con- 
tinual preaching,  and  the  fecundity  of  the  Order  founded 
by  him,  made  him  great  in  the  eyes  of  King  and  Pope. 
He  was  the  able  guide  of  Lothaire  in  his  struggle 
against  the  Hohenstaufen,  and  in  the  schism  of  Anacletus 
he  directed  political  life  in  Germany  with  such  success 


Norbert,  tlie  Saint  of  His  Age  339 

that  Germany  actually  became  the  champion  of  Pope 
Innocent.  It  is  written  of  him : 

"Norbert  is  in  every  respect  a  reflection  of  his  time 
"and  a  worthy  representative  of  the  first  half  of  the 
"twelfth  century.  The  religious  enthusiasm  and  the 
"maturity  of  diplomatic  sense  which  distinguish  the 
"German  princes  of  this  period,  the  high  culture  in 
"which  the  clergy  of  this  time  could  glory,  all  this  ap- 
"peared  in  its  true  sphere  under  the  activity  of  Nor- 
"bert:  More  than  any  of  his  contemporaries  he  had  in 
"view  as  cleric,  depth  of  religious  sentiment;  as  prince 
* '  of  the  Church,  purity  of  life  and  of  morals ;  as  prince 
"of  the  Empire,  a  clear  view  of  his  duties  towards 
' { Church  and  State.  Hence  it  was  through  the  energetic 
"and  powerful  part  he  took  in  the  leading  questions  of 
"his  day  that  he  created  a  situation  which  gave  him  a 
"wide-spread  influence  over  his  own  age  and  over  all 
"succeeding  ages."1 

His  power  as  an  orator  has  been  highly  extolled 
by  numerous  contemporaries.  If,  in  the  words  of  St. 
Augustine,  "Real  eloquence  has  two  sources,  namely, 
love  for  man  and  love  for  truth,"  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  calculate  how  great  was  the  influence  of  Norbert  over 
his  age,  through  his  powerful  eloquence. 

Norbert  was  also  an  author.  Though  constantly  occu- 
pied in  preaching,  founding  monasteries,  and  later  in 
the  administration  of  his  vast  diocese,  historians  are 
unanimous  in  ascribing  to  Norbert  several  works.  Thus, 
in  his  "Catalogue  of  Witnesses  to  the  Truth,"  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Eisengreim  ascribes  the  following  works  to  Norbert : 


i  Rosenmund.     "The  most  ancient  biographies."     Sect.  IV. 
"The  Norbert  of  History,"  pp.  122-123. 


340  -History  of  Saint  Norbert 

1.  The  three  books  of  Visions.    Although  a  Lutheran 
author,  Samuel  Halter,  speaks  of  them  disdainfully  as 
the  product  of  a  fanatical  imagination,  we  can  only  ex- 
press our  deep  regret  that  the  books  are  lost  to  us,  for 
the  marvelous  revelations  with  which  heaven  favored 
the  Saint  during  the  years  following  his  conversion,  were 
given  in  these  books. 

2.  The  sermons  delivered  on  his  missions  and  in  the 
monastery  to  his  disciples  were  also  recorded  by  Nor- 
bert.    The  titles  of  some  have  come  down  to  us.     "On 
the  Death  of  a  Saint" — "The  Shortness  of  Life"— "The 
Sweetness  of  the  Yoke  of  Christ" — "The  Re-establish- 
ment of  Regular  Discipline. ' '    At  present  we  have  noth- 
ing but  part  of  his  discourse  to  the  brethren  at  Pre- 
montre,  previously  mentioned.     This  ascetic   discourse 
has,  during  the  last  century,  been  deemed  worthy  of  a 
place  in  the  Library  of  the  Fathers. 

3.  An  Office  of  the  Most  Pure    Conception  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary.     The  antiphon  composed  by  Nor- 
bert, "Ave,  Virgo,  quae,  Spiritu  Sancto  praeservante, 
de  tanto  primi  parentis  peccato  triumphasti  innoxia," 
has  been  inserted  in  the  new  Office  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception. 

4.  A  treatise  on  the  nullity  of  the  election  to  the 
Papacy  of  Peter  di  Leone. 

5.  A  book  on  the  "Priesthood." 

Father  LePaige,  who  enumerates  these  different  works, 
further  adds  a  list  of  Homilies  on  the  Sacred  Scriptures 
from  the  the  hand  of  Norbert,  and  assures  us  that  the 
manuscripts  were  kept,  as  late  as  the  year  1633,  in  the 
celebrated  monastery  of  Cappenberg.2  It  seems  inex- 

2Cfr.  Madelaine,  p.  458— Le  Paige  Biblioth.  Ord.  Praem., 
p.  304 — also  Lienhart  "Spiritus  literarius  Norbertinus,"  pp.  6-8. 


Saint  Norbert  and  Martin  Luther  341 

plicable  how  these  works,  still  existing  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  are  all  lost  to  us  today.  But  the  severe  trials 
of  the  abbeys  during  the  period  that  followed  the  Protes- 
tant Reformation,  of  which  we  shall  speak  later,  and  also 
the  great  fire  at  Magdeburg  in  1631,3  may,  in  some  meas- 
ure account  for  their  loss.  Yet,  as  Madelaine  observes, 
it  is  quite  possible  that  Norbert 's  manuscripts  do  exist 
today,  in  some  forgotten  corner  of  a  library. 

It  is  evident  to  any  student  of  the  history  of 
St.  Norbert  that  "authorship"  was  by  no  means  his 
main  object  in  life.  Norbert  was  a  man  of  action,  and 
we  have  found  his  life  full  of  high  activity,  which,  how- 
ever, did  not  interfere  with  his  sanctity.  If  he  was  con- 
sidered great  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  it  was  not  that 
he  sought  it.  Since  the  day  of  his  conversion  his  one  aim 
was  to  live  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ.  Most  unjustly,  there- 
fore, has  Norbert  been  referred  to  as  the  Luther  of  the 
twelfth  century.4 

True,  the  sudden  death  of  a  friend  was  to  Luther  what 
a  storm  was  to  Norbert.  Both  realized  the  vanity  of 
earthly  things  and  withdrew  from  the  world.  However, 
instead  of  founding  a  religious  Order,  Luther  condemned 
them  all;  instead  of  working  for  the  restoration  of 
Christ's  kingdom  in  the  hearts  of  men,  Luther  did  all  in 
his  power  to  destroy  God's  kingdom.  Norbert  was  in- 
strumental in  restoring  a  Pope  to  the  throne  of  St.  Peter, 
Luther  was  the  sworn  enemy  of  the  papacy.  Norbert, 
following  the  example  of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  had  from  the 
day  of  his  conversion  placed  himself  under  the  guidance 
of  a  saintly  abbot,  and  true  humility  and  mistrust  of  him- 


*Cfr.  Cath.  Enc.,  Vol.  IX,  p.  525. 
*  See  Madelaine,  p.  471. 


342  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

self  had  been  the  foundation,  the  beginning  of  his  sub- 
sequent virtuous  life.  Luther,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
guided  by  pride  and  self-love,  and  thus  threw  not  only 
himself  into  the  abyss  but  millions  of  others. 

The  poles  are  not  farther  apart  than  are  the  character, 
life-work  and  aims  of  Norbert  and  Luther.  The  virtue 
which  especially  characterized  Norbert,  was  his  deep 
faith.  As  we  read  in  the  MS.  Life  by  Bl.  Hugh:  "Ber- 
nard of  Clairvaux  was  known  especially  for  his  charity ; 
Milo  for  his  humility,  but  Norbert  for  his  faith. "  See- 
ing God  in  that  clear  light  of  faith,  he  must  needs  love 
Him  with  his  whole  heart,  and  seek  to  make  Him  loved 
by  others.  Thus  we  see  in  Norbert  a  ceaseless  burning 
thirst  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  it  is  difficult  for 
the  historian  to  keep  pace  with  the  wonderful  develop- 
ment of  the  Saint 's  great  faith.  It  is  written  of  him : 
"The  period  of  his  conversion  at  first  indicates  only  an 
"illustrious  penitent;  soon  the  penitent  is  eclipsed  by 
"the  apostle.  For  a  moment  we  lose  sight  of  the  apos- 
"tle  and  consider  the  founder  of  a  new  religious  Order. 
"The  Founder  himself  seems  to  disappear  when  the 
"Archbishop  commands  our  attention.  How  can  one 
' '  follow  him  at  the  court  of  kings,  whose  oracle  he  is ; 
"among  heretics  to  whom  he  is  a  powerful  opponent,  or 
"in  the  midst  of  ravages  produced  by  a  schism  whose 
' '  executioner  he  is  ? '  '5 

Recall  but  to  mind  Norbert 's  lively  faith  in  the  Holy 
Eucharist.  This  great  mystery  has  been  called  the  "dog- 
ma generating  true  and  solid  piety. ' '  Daily  did  Norbert 
offer  up  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  and  on  many  occasions,  sev- 
eral times  in  one  day.  God  permitted  His  greatest  mir- 


5  Cfr.  Migne  "Orateurs  sacrds"  T.  LIIL,  col.  344. 


Norbert  is  Proclaimed  a  Saint  343 

acles  through  the  Saint  when  he  was  celebrating  the 
Great  Sacrifice,  and  in  Antwerp  we  found  Norbert  to  be 
its  great  advocate  and  apostle.  It  was  while  celebrating 
Mass  that  Norbert  especially  reconciled  enemies,  drove 
out  evil  spirits,  and  even  restored  sight  to  the  blind. 

Of  his  austerities,  mortifications  and  self-denial, 
enough  has  been  said  to  convince  the  most  skeptical 
mind  of  Norbert 's  holy  life.  His  devotion  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin  was  so  great  that  he  devoted  all  new  foundations 
to  her  honor,  and  dedicated  them  to  her  name.  In  rec- 
ognition of  his  filial  piety  the  Queen  of  Heaven  showed 
Norbert  the  habit  of  his  Order  and  always  protected  him 
and  his  Order  in  a  most  special  manner.  Norbert,  from 
the  very  day  of  his  death,  was  proclaimed  by  the  "Vox 
populi"  a  true  Saint;  and  the  bishop  who  succeeded  him 
in  Magdeburg  spoke  of  him  as  "  Blessed. "  It  may  per- 
haps seem  strange  to  us,  therefore,  that  Norbert 's  solemn 
canonization  did  not  take  place  till  the  year  1582. 

Various  biographers  give  different  reasons  to  account 
for  this  delay.  It  is  very  probable  that  Norbert 's  can- 
onization was  asked  for  as  early  as  1163,  when  the  cause 
of  St.  Bernard  was  first  introduced  at  the  Council  of 
Tours.6  At  that  time  the  Pope  rejected  all  applicactions 
for  the  simple  reason,  as  he  explains  in  a  Brief  of  Jan. 
18,  1174,  that  there  were  entirely  too  many;  and  not  to 
give  offense,  His  Holiness  postponed  them  all.  During 
the  reign  of  Pope  Innocent  III,  Norbert 's  cause  was  once 
more  introduced  by  the  Saxons,  who  laid  before  the 
Holy  Father  the  scattered  documents  regarding  Nor- 
bert's  miracles.  "Jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  abbey  of 
Premontre,"  continues  the  same  historian,  "prevented 

e  Thus  VandenElsen,  o.  c.,  p.  375. 


344  History  of  Saint  Norbert 

Norbert's  canonization  at  this  time,  because  the  Abbot- 
General,  Gervase  by  name,  refused  to  use  his  influence 
with  the  Pope  as  long  as  the  sacred  remains  were  kept  in 
Magdeburg.  Naturally  Premontre,  the  cradle  of  the 
Order  of  Norbert,  thought  it  had  the  first  right  to  pre- 
serve the  body  of  the  Saint.  "We  might  feel  inclined  to 
overlook  this  petty  jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  abbey  of 
Premontre,  did  it  not  lead  to  a  long  postponement  of 
Norbert's  canonization.  Several  other  abbeys  took  the 
stand  of  the  Abbot-General,  and  for  years  after,  as  often 
as  the  canonization  was  asked  for,  the  cause  was  always 
introduced  as  a  petition  of  a  single  abbey,  and  not  of 
the  whole  Order. ' ' 

The  Provostry  of  Magdeburg  became  soon  after  the 
Saint's  death  one  of  the  most  celebrated  houses  of  the 
Order,  and  the  mother-house  of  ten  abbeys.  It  had  even 
certain  rights  over  the  bishopric  of  Brandenburg,  Hav- 
elberg  and  Ratzeburg,  the  bishops  of  which  dioceses  were 
elected  by  the  Norbertine  canons  attached  to  these  cathe- 
dral churches.  Adding  to  this  ascendency  the  fact  that 
St.  Mary's  was  the  actual  guardian  of  the  tomb  of  the 
Saint,  it  is  not  difficult  to  find  the  cause  of  the  petty 
jealousy  between  the  two  leading  abbeys. 

However,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  a  time  of  general 
relaxation  in  monastic  discipline,  the  Fathers  of  Saxony 
unfortunately  lost  more  and  more  the  spirit  of  Norbert, 
and  in  several  monasteries  they  began  to  be  replaced  by 
other  religious.  "When,  in  the  year  1541,  the  General 
Chapter  introduced  the  cause  of  Norbert's  canonization, 
Magdeburg  had  entirely  lost  its  former  glory.  Like  the 
whole  Catholic  Church  in  fact,  the  Premonstratensian 
Order  at  this  time  was  passing  through  a  severe  crisis, 
and  once  more  did  lack,  of  unity  among  the  different 


The  Bull  of  Norbert 's  Canonization  345 

houses  prevent  the  canonization.  Only,  when  in  1573 
the  Order  had  once  more  its  Abbot- General,  and  unity 
and  discipline  had  been  re-established,  Norbert 's  cause 
was  at  last  introduced  successfully,  and  was  Norbert  sol- 
emnly canonized  by  Pope  Gregory  XIII,  on  the  28th  of 
July,  1582. 

"We  have  heard  from  trustworthy  witnesses/'  thus 
says  the  Holy  Father  in  the  Bull  of  Canonization,  "and 
"especially  from  Cardinal  Philippe  Buoncompagni,  our 
"Great-Penitentiary,  and  John,  Abbot  of  the  monastery 
* '  of  Premontre,  in  the  diocese  of  Laon,  that  Blessed  Nor- 
"bert,  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg  and  a  man  of  eminent 
"sanctity,  founded,  more  than  four  hundred  years  ago, 
"the  Premonstratensian  Order.  "We  therefore  consider 
"it  Our  duty  to  have  him  honored  and  venerated  on 
"earth  as  he  is  venerated  and  honored  in  heaven,  since 
"his  life,  so  pleasing  to  God,  has  been  glorified  by  so 
' '  many  miracles.  In  consequence  we  authorize  the  Abbot 
' '  John  and  all  the  Superiors  of  the  Order  to  show  them- 
"  selves  forever  grateful  sons  and  devoted  to  their  Fa- 
"ther,  and  to  celebrate  the  feast  of  St.  Norbert,  Con- 
"fessor  and  Pontiff,  on  the  sixth  day  of  June,  the  day 
"on  which  he  emigrated  to  heaven,  solemnly  as  a  feast 
"Double  with  an  Octave,  and  then  m,ake  the  'common 
" suffrage'  according  to  the  monastic  rite  of  the  Order; 
' '  and  further  to  inscribe  Norbert 's  name,  which  is  found 
"already  in  several  martyrologies  consecrated  to  the 
"use  of  the  Catholic  Church,  to  inscribe,  I  say,  in  the 
"Calendar  of  said  Order,  under  the  rite  of  Double  with 
"an  Octave  .  .  . 

* '  Given  at  Rome  the  year  of  the  Incarnation,  1582,  the 
"fifth  of  the  Kalends  of  August."7 

TMiraeus  Chron.  Ord.  Praem.,  p.  232,  App.  No.  XV. 


346  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

Bightly  do  the  Bollandists  observe  that  in  this  docu- 
ment Pope  Gregory  speaks  of  Norbert  as  it  were  of  a 
Saint  who  had  been  canonized  long  before.8  Further, 
Pope  Gregory  also  granted  a  plenary  indulgence  to  all 
Premonstratensians  on  that  day.  Pope  Urban  VIII 
finally  made  the  feast  of  St.  Norbert  a  general  feast  to 
be  observed  by  all  the  churches  and  all  religious  Orders. 

The  act  of  Pope  Gregory  was  the  occasion  for  a  gen- 
eral outburst  of  devotion  for  our  dear  but  forgotten 
Saint.  His  name  was  once  more  on  the  lips  of  all,  and 
his  powerful  intercession  was  invoked  by  the  Church 
Universal  for  guidance  in  the  lamentable  days  of  Luther 's 
revolution.  Alas !  the  heresy  of  Luther,  himself  a  Saxon 
by  birth,  had  made  sad  ravages  in  Saxony  especially, 
and  in  1540  had  expelled  the  sons  of  Norbert  from  St. 
Mary's  Chapter.  As  a  consequence  the  body  of  the  Saint 
had  come  into  the  hands  of  Lutherans,  who  persistently 
refused  to  part  with  it.  In  the  year  1596  the  different 
abbots  met  to  find  means  of  removing  Norbert 's  tomb 
from  Magdeburg,  for  they  greatly  lamented  the  fact  that 
the  relics  of  their  Holy  Founder  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  these  sacrilegious  reformers,  to  whom  nothing 
was  sacred.  The  religious  of  Steinfeld  had  failed  in 
their  efforts  to  secure  it,  and  thus  John  Lohelius,  Abbot 
of  Strahov  and  later  Archbishop  of  Prague,  John  de 
Pruetis,  Abbot-General  of  Premontre,  and  Denis  Fey- 
ten,  Abbot  of  St.  Michael's  at  Antwerp — three  influen- 
tial men — united  their  efforts  and  went  to  the  German 
Emperor.  The  latter  consented  to  send  a  man  of  influ- 
ence to  Magdeburg  to  urge  their  request,  but  under  pre- 
text that  the  body  would  be  used  as  an  object  of  idol- 

sActa  SS.  T.  XX. 


Mag&eburg  Refuses  to  Part  with  the  Relics       347 

atry,  the  Lutherans  persisted  in  their  refusal.  More- 
over, the  Catholics  themselves  of  Magdeburg,  who  looked 
upon  Norbert  as  their  special  Protector  in  those  evil 
days,  were  loath  to  part  with  the  remains.9 

Thirty  years  more  passed  during  which  numerous 
efforts  were  made,  but  always  in  vain.  Meanwhile  John 
Lohelius  had  died,  and  Gaspar  von  Questenburg  had 
succeeded  him  in  the  abbatial  dignity.  He  went  to  the 
Emperor,  Ferdinand  II,  in  the  year  1625,  and  obtained 
a  letter  from  him  in  which  His  Majesty  urged  his  civil 
and  military  officials  in  the  district  of  Magdeburg  to 
support  the  request  made  by  the  abbot  of  Strahov.  The 
abbot  went  to  Magdeburg  in  person  and  saw  the  tomb  of 
his  spiritual  Father;  but,  influenced  by  the  Lutheran 
Provost  of  St.  Mary's,  the  officials  still  refused  to  let 
him  have  the  body.  Abbot  Gaspar  returned  to  Prague, 
sick  at  heart,  and  in  utter  despair  of  ever  being  able  to 
obtain  the  sacred  relics  of  Norbert.  Repeatedly  did  he 
return  to  Magdeburg  and  use  his  eloquence  as  well  as 
the  influence  of  powerful  friends,  but  without  success. 
At  one  time  he  even  went  with  forty  armed  men  to  take 
the  relics  by  force,  but  still  in  vain.  Only  after  the  peo- 
ple of  Magdeburg  had  suffered  defeat  upon  defeat  in 
battle,  and  had  begun  to  fear  provoking  the  anger  of 
the  Emperor,  did  they  consent. 

It  was  on  December  3,  of  the  year  1626,  that  the  Abbot 
of  Strahov  once  more  entered  Magdeburg,  in  company 
of  the  Provost  of  Doxan,  and  was  allowed  to  proceed  to 
an  official  inspection  of  the  tomb  of  St.  Norbert  in  the 

»Cfr.  VandenElsen,  p.  383— Madelaine  492— Le  Paige  Bib- 
lioth.  Ord.  Praem.,  p.  408 — and  Pere  Alphonse  de  Liguori  "Vie 
de  saint  Norbert,"  p.  314. 


348  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

presence  of  the  Lutheran  Provost  and  canons  of  St. 
Mary's,  the  civil  and  military  authorities,  and  numerous 
lay  and  clerical  witnesses.  He  made  the  verification  and 
found  the  body  of  the.  Saint  intact,  robed  in  the  sacred 
vestments  in  which  Norbert  had  been  buried  nearly  500 
years  before.10 

On  the  following  day  Abbot  Gaspar  and  the  Provost 
left  Magdeburg  under  good  escort,  carrying  their  pre- 
cious treasure  to  the  convent  of  Norbertine  Nuns  at 
Doxan,  where  the  relics  of  the  Saint  were  first  deposited. 
The  good  Sisters  received  them  with  indescribable  joy,  on 
the  16th  of  December,  1626.  On  the  same  day  a  message 
was  sent  to  Prague,  where  the  people  at  once  began  to 
make  preparations  for  a  solemn  reception.  The  relics 
had  been  deposited  only  temporarily  at  Doxan,  six  miles 
from  Prague.  In  Prague  there  was  a  universal  rejoicing 
when  the  good  people  heard  of  the  great  treasure  they 
were  about  to  possess.  On  the  30th  day  of  April  the 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  solemnly  proclaimed 
Norbert  as  their  chosen  Protector  and  as  the  Patron 
Saint  of  the  kingdom  of  Bohemia.  Great  festivities  were 
arranged  for  the  Solemn  Translation  of  Norbert 's  Body, 
which  finally  took  place  on  the  2nd  day  of  May,  1627. 

Meanwhile  the  Abbot  of  Strahov  had  invited  the  abbots 
of  Bohemia,  Poland,  Germany,  France,  Holland  and 

10  The  various  circumstances  related  here  are  taken  from 
a  process-verbal  made  up  on  this  occasion  by  a  Lutheran 
notary  of  the  senate  of  Magdeburg.  Cfr.  Madelaine,  p.  494. 
VandenElsen,  on  p.  387,  relates  the  same  facts,  and  has  taken 
them  from  VanderSterre,  who  received  them  from  the  mouth 
of  some  of  the  canons  of  the  abbey  of  Steinfeldt,  who  had 
been  present  on  this  occasion.  Further  confer  also  Le  Paige, 
loc.  cit. 


The  Solemn  Translation  of  tlie  Relics  349 

Belgium  to  come  to  Prague  to  take  part  in  the  triumph 
of  their  Holy  Father,  and  thus  was  the  Solemn  Trans- 
lation carried  out  in  the  presence  of  an  immense  crowd 
of  people  with  the  greatest  magnificence.  The  Sacred 
Remains  were  carried  in  triumph  through  the  city 
on  the  shoulders  of  eight  abbots  vested  in  pontifical  at- 
tire, and  were  followed  by  a  countless  multitude  carry- 
ing banners  and  singing  hymns  in  honor  of  St.  Norbert. 
Silver  coins  made  in  remembrance  of  this  occasion,  were 
distributed  among  the  people,  and  the  festivities  lasted 
for  a  whole  week.11  During  the  Octave,  sermons,  in 
which  Norbert 's  glory  was  proclaimed,  were  preached 
in  every  church  of  Prague,  and  on  the  last  day  the  pro- 
cession was  repeated  with  the  same  solemnity. 

God  deigned  to  work  a  great  many  miracles 
through  the  intercession  of  St.  Norbert  during  the  sol- 
emn celebrations.  A  record  of  these  is  still  preserved 
in  the  office  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Diocese,  among 
which  is  related,  as  the  greatest  and  the  most  remarkable 
of  all,  the  abjuration  of  not  less  than  600  Protestants, 
who,  during  this  Octave,  were  reconciled  to  the 
Church.12 

Part  of  the  relics  of  St.  Norbert  were  transferred  to 
Antwerp,  in  Belgium,  where,  upon  their  arrival,  the  fes- 
tivities were  no  less  glorious,  and  it  is  a  most  remark- 
able fact  that  in  these  two  countries,  Bohemia  and  Bel- 
gium, where  the  Saint's  relics  have  been  kept  and  ven- 
erated, the  Order  has  ever  since  flourished.  The  Pre- 
monstratensians  in  Germany  and  in  France,  who  had 
withstood  the  Protestant  Reformation,  came  to  dishonor 

11  Cfr.  VandenElsen,  p.  390. 

12  Cfr.  Madelaine,  p.   495. 


350  History  of  Saint  Norlert 

in  the  days  of  the  Revolution,  while  the  abbeys  of  Bel- 
gium, and  Bohemia  were  never  in  a  more  flourishing  con- 
dition than  in  those  very  days  of  rebellion ;  and  what  is 
more,  they  have  continued  their  glorious  record  until  our 
times. 

The  canons  of  Strahov  are  still  the  custodians  of  the 
relics  of  St.  Norbert,  and  whenever  the  feast  of  the  Sol- 
emn Translation  is  being  commemorated,  thousands  of 
people  sing  before  the  shrine: 

"This  Saint  is  a  vessel  of  election  filled  with  the 
"Holy  Ghost.  This  is  Norbert,  the  great  friend  of 
* '  God.  He  is  the  valiant  champion  who  fought  with 
"the  serpent  of  old.  An  angel  of  peace,  a  herald 
"of  penance,  he  is  powerful  in  words  and  deeds  by 
"miracles  and  prophecies.  We,  his  children,  ap- 
' '  proach  Him,  our  Father ;  we,  his  clients,  approach 
"Him,  our  Patron.  0,  let  us  pray  to  Him  and  say: 
"0,  Saint  of  God!  0,  Friend  of  the  Spouse!  Father 
"and  Guardian,  Thou  the  glory  of  our  holy  moun- 
"tain,  pray  to  the  Lord  for  us.  Hear  us,  0  hear  us, 
1 '  St.  Norbert !  Make  those  whom  thou  hast  deemed 
"worthy  to  guard  the  treasure  of  thy  sacred  body, 
"ever  feel  the  benefit  of  thy  powerful  intercession. 
"Amen." 

These  great  celebrations  naturally  gave  a  new  impetus 
to  the  cultus  of  St.  Norbert,  and  thus  it  is  that  since  this 
memorable  event  especially,  historians  in  their  annals, 
poets  in  their  -verses,  and  artists  on  their  canvas,  began 
anew  to  proclaim  the  greatness  of  our  dear  Saint.  His 
statue  soon  decorated  the  portico  of  the  Vatican,  and 
was  placed  also  within  the  walls  of  St.  Peter's.  It  is  seen 


Certain  Paintings  of  Saint  Norbert  351 

in  the  left  transept  between  the  statues  of  St.  Juliana 
Falconieri  and  St.  Peter  Nolascus,  with  this  inscription : 

S.  NORBERTO 

PATRI  SUO  INSTITUTORI 

POSTEA  ARCHIEP.  MAGDEBURG. 

CANONICI  PRAEMONSTRA.     EREXERUNT 

ANNO  MDCCLXVII. 

Different  paintings  from  the  hand  of  the  great  Rubens 
himself,  representing  the  Saint,  were  at  one  time  found 
in  the  Abbey  of  St.  Michael,  in  Antwerp.  One  of  these, 
representing  St.  Norbert,  St.  Clare  and  St.  Thomas  of 
Aquin,  in  adoration  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  dec- 
orates even  to  this  day  the  entrance  of  the  museum  Ken- 
sington in  London.  But  it  is  especially  in  the  city  of  Ant- 
werp that  one  finds  numerous  representations  of  St.  Nor- 
bert, because  since  his  victory  over  Tanchelm  he  has 
been  rightly  considered  the  apostle  of  that  city. 

In  closing  the  "Life"  of  the  glorious  patriarch,  we 
know  of  no  more  fitting  tribute  we  can  give  to  his  great- 
ness than  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  his  Order,  which  is 
about  to  celebrate  its  eighth  centenary,  and  this  will  form 
the  second  volume. 


END  OP  VOLUME  I. 


INDEX 


ABBESS,  Authority  of  a  Nor- 

bertine,  124,  125. 
Abbot,   Title   of,    refused    by 

Norbert,  114;  benediction  of, 

224. 

Abbots  and  bishops,  wordly,  7. 
Abelard,  Peter,  is  opposed  by 

Norbert,  83,  84,  185,  190,  325. 
Accident,  A  sad,  at  the  con- 
secration of  the  church  at 

Premontre,  137. 
Accusations   against   Norbert, 

32. 

Adam,  frater,  77,  160. 
Agnes,   Countess    of     Braine, 

joins  the  Order,  123. 
Ailbert,  St.,  27,  28. 
Albero,  Archbishop  of  Bremen, 

298. 

Albero  of  Metz,  233,  235. 
Alberon,  Bishop  of  LiSge,  132, 

177. 

Albert,  Count  of  Pogen,  205. 
Alexander  III.  and  the  See  of 

Rheims,  233   (note). 
Almoner  of  the  Emperor,  Nor- 
bert is  made,  9. 
Almsgiving  in  the  early  days 

of  the  Order,  115,  122,  144, 

207,  222. 

Alsleben,  Monastery  of,  258. 
Altarstone  broken  during  the 

consecration     of     the     new 

church  at  Premontre,  137. 
Altena,  Convent  of,  270. 
Amandus,  St.,  171. 
Ammersleden,    Monastery   of, 

258. 
Anacletus,     Activity     of     the 

antipope,  191,  192,  193,  294, 

298,    300,    301    303,    308    313 

317. 


Anastasia,  Countess  of  Bonne- 
burg,  joins  the  Order,  123. 

Angelis,  Gregory  de,  Cardinal, 
179,  294,  295,  296. 

Animals,  Norbert's  power  over, 
201. 

Anizy,  The  castle  of,  68,  80, 
215. 

Annal,  St.,  214. 

Annon,  St.,  16. 

Anselm  of  Havelberg,  40,  111, 
186,  276,  326,  329,  332. 

Anthony,  frater,  77. 

Antichrist,  Coming  of  the, 
192  (note),  295,  296. 

Antwerp,  Sad  state  of,  165; 
Norbert,  apostle  of,  77,  162, 
169;  the  cathedral  of,  169 
(note),  170;  St.  Michael's 
Abbey  at,  139,  169,  174,  214; 
St.  Norbert's  relics  in,  349. 

Apparitions,  Norbert  favored 
by  heavenly,  68,  95,  102, 
108;  Bl.  Hugh  favored  by, 
128,  333. 

Approbations  of  the  Norber- 
tine  Order,  174,  179,  211, 
213,  214,  215,  216. 

Aquitaine,  William,  Duke  of, 
58,  308. 

Archbishop  of  Magdeburg. 
(See  Norbert.) 

Ardenne,  Abbey  of,  139,  160. 

Arensberg,  Frederic,  Count  of, 
145,  146,  147,  148. 

Arras  agitated  by  sects,  162. 

Atticus  (Hatseco),  Archdea- 
con, continually  persecutes 
Norbert,  271,  275,  276,  277, 
300,  301,  303. 

Augustine,  St.,  82,  102,  250. 
Rule  of,  27,  83,  102,  103 
(note),  250. 


353 


354 


Index 


Averbode,  Abbey  of,  169 
(note). 

BARONIUS,  cited,  30. 

Bartholomew,  Bishop  of  Laon, 
59,  61,  64,  67,  78,  130*,  161, 
174. 

Beatrix,  sister  of  Bl.  Godfrey 
of  Cappenberg,  142. 

Beatrix,  Viscountess  of  Am- 
iens, joins  the  Order,  123. 

Beaulieu,  Abbey  of,  196  (note). 

Beauty  of  the  monastic  life, 
121,  122. 

Bedburg,  Convent  of,  178. 

Benedict  XIV,  cited,  157. 

Benedictine  life,  Norbert  leads 
for  a  time,  the,  16 

Benedictine  Monks  at  Laon, 
67,  71. 

Bergen,  Benedictine  Abbey 
of,  257,  268,  285. 

Bernard,  Bl.,  of  Tiron,  71. 

Bernard,  St.,  71  (note),  74,  83, 
113,  153,  161,  175  (note), 
186,  187,  188,  190,  192,  194, 
207,  213,  249,  295,  305,  309, 
312,  314,  342. 

Berne,  Abbey  of,  325  (note). 

Bishop's  position  in  the 
twelfth  century,  244. 

Birthday  of  the  Norbertine 
Order,  78,  104. 

Blessed  Virgin,  Apparition  of 
the,  to  Norbert,  68,  108;  Of- 
fice of  the,  composed  oy 
Norbert,  108,  109,  110. 

Blind  woman,  Sight  restored 
at  Wurzburg,  to  a,  219,  220. 

Bolanden,  Norbert  at,  248. 

Bonlant  Abbey,  151. 

Bourdin,  Maurice,  antipope, 
31,  58,  148. 

Brabant,  Norbert's  preaching 
in,  48,  56,  77. 

Brandenburg,  Bp.  of,  suffra- 
gan of  Norbert,  240,  252, 
344. 


Bruges,  Tanchelm  driven  out 

of,  164. 
Bruno,  Archbishop  of  Cologne, 

194. 

Bruys,  Peter,  heretic,  163. 
Bulls,   Papal,   179,    213,     214, 

319. 
Burchard,  Bp.  of  Cambray,  43, 

44,  45,  46,  62,  165,  166,  169. 
Burial  of  Norbert,  331,  332. 

CALIXTTJS  II.,  Pope,  58,  60,  62, 
63,  179. 

Calligraphy  at  Cuissy  and 
Vauclair,  161. 

Cambray,  Bishopric  of,  offered 
to  Norbert,  11,  43,  45;  di- 
ocese of,  47,  53,  165,  214; 
Norbert  preaches  at,  76. 

Canonesses,  Norbertine,  124. 

Canonical  life,  The,  28,  29,  82, 
83,  179,  180,  213. 

Canonical  Order,  Norbert's 
Order  a,  105,  106. 

Canonization  of  Norbert,  Sol- 
emn, 344,  345. 

Canonry,  Norbert  obtains  a,  7. 

Canons,  their  life  and  work,  4, 
7,  105,  111,  112,  113,  180. 

Canons  of  St.  Martin's  at  La- 
on, The,  66,  174. 

Cappenberg,  Abbey  of,  142, 
144,  150,  210,  214,  260,  340; 
Counts  of,  140. 

Catharist  heresy,  85,  162. 

Cathedral  of  Antwerp,  Origin 
of  the,  169  (note),  170.. 

Chancellor  of  Lothaire,  Nor- 
bert is  made,  310  (note), 
316. 

Chapel,  The,  of  St.  Denis, 
where  Norbert's  room  is 
still  pointed  out  to  the  vis- 
itor, 14;  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist  at  Premontre",  67, 
71,  78,  81,  93,  126,  200,  244, 
260. 


Index 


355 


Chapter,  General,  of  the  Or- 
der, 264,  265,  306. 

Character  of  the  Norbertine 
Order,  Special,  105,  106. 

Charter,  The  Norbertine,  of 
Charity,  192  209;  of  the 
Bishop  of  Laon,  118;  of 
St.  Martin's  at  Laon,  174, 
190;  of  Clarholt  Abbey,  326; 
of  St.  Mary's  at  Magdeburg, 
266;  of  Premontre,  71,  79. 

Chartres,  Pope  Innocent  II, 
at,  300. 

Chatteau-Thierry  Abbey,  157, 
231. 

Church  at  Premontre,  The,  93, 
101,  126,  128,  129,  130,  135, 
136,  138. 

Cistercian  Order,  The,  83,  183, 
184,  198. 

Cistercian  and  a  Clunyite,  Di- 
alogue between  a,  183. 

Citeaux,  The  Order  of,  190, 
195,  198. 

Claire-Fontaine,  Abbey  of,  90. 

Clarholt  Abbey,  151,  326. 

Classes  in  Norbertine  Order, 
Three,  106. 

Cleric,  Norbert  is  to  become 
a,  7. 

Cluny,  Death  of  Pope  Gelasius 
at,  57;  election  of  new  Pope 
held  at,  58. 

Clunyite  and  a  Cistercian,  Di- 
alogue between  a,  183. 

Cologne,  Norbert  at,  4  (note), 
5,  17,  18,  93,  94,  96,  163,  178, 
325;  Frederic,  Archbp.  of, 
7,  17,  18,  33,  34,  60,  97,  164, 
194;  cathedral  of,  18;  uni- 
versity of,  Norbert  at  the,  4 
(note),  5. 

Collegiate  church,  of  Xanten, 
4;  of  Magdeburg,  266. 

Companions  of  Norbert,  Early, 
35,  41,  74,  75,  93. 

Conon,  Abbot,  Norbert's  spir- 
itual guide,  16,  17,  18,  25,  26, 
28,  34, 


Conrad,  of  Franconia,  255,  256, 
258,  312;  of  Liechtenau,  ab- 
bot, 205;  of  Querfurt, 
Archbp.  of  Magdeburg,  329, 
335. 

Consecration  of  Norbert,  243 
(note),  244. 

Contemplative  life  of  Norber- 
tine Sisters,  124. 

Conversion  of  St.  Bernard, 
190;  of  St.  Norbert,  13,  29; 
of  600  Protestants,  349. 

Coronation  of  Lothaire,  Con- 
ditions of  the,  10. 

Coucy,  The  forest  of,  67;  En- 
guerrand  I.  of,  70,  131. 

Council  of  Fritzlar,  31;  of 
Rheims,  58,  62. 

Counsels,  Evangelical,  Rules 
to  interpret  the,  82,  120. 

Countess  of  Poitiers,  at 
Rheims,  58. 

Court-life  of  Norbert,  7,  8,  12, 
44,  60,  141,  257. 

Crusades,  Interest  in  the,  6; 
results  of  the,  53;  children 
of  Count  Theobald  join  in 
the,  233  (note). 

Crucifix,  Vision  of  the,  in 
Pre"montre,  128. 

Cuissy,  Abbey  of,  139,  161, 
225. 

Cultus  of  St.  Norbert,  350. 

Cuno  of  Preneste,  Cardinal, 
31,  83,  298. 

DAGOBERT,  King,  160. 

Dead,  The,  raised  to  life  by 
Norbert,  324. 

Death,  of  Norbert's  first  com- 
panions, 43;  of  Norbert, 
330;  of  Norbert  spoken  of 
in  the  Life  of  St.  Bernard, 
194. 

Dedication  of  the  church  at 
Premontre,  136. 

Desecration  of  the  cathedral 
of  Magdeburg,  274,  275. 


356 


Index 


Devotion  of  Norbert  for  Holy 
Mass,  21,  27,  55,  132,  170, 
251,  327,  342;  to  our  Bl. 
Mother,  55,  68,  108,  109,  170, 
172. 

Devotion  to  the  Holy  Euchar- 
ist and  the  Bl.  Virgin,  a  dis- 
tinguishing mark  of  the 
Order,  107,  108,  172. 

Dialogue  between  a  Cister- 
cian and  a  Clunyite,  183. 

Diet  at  Ratisbon,  9;  at  Spires, 
233,  240. 

Divine  Office,  Singing  of  the, 
important  duty  of  the  sons 
of  Norbert,  117,  124. 

Dominic,  St.,  206,  324. 

Dommartin,  Abbey  of,  77,  160. 

Double  monasteries,  88,  123. 

Doxan,  Convent  of,  348. 

Drogo,  Abbot,  190. 

EIFEL,  Abbey  of  Steinfeld  in 

the,  225. 
Election,  of  abbots,  117,  262, 

264;   of  Norbert  to  the  See 

of  Magdeburg,  235;  of  Pope 

Innocent  II.,  296,  297. 
Elten,  Convent  of,  270. 
Emelrick,  Provost,  293. 
Emericus,  frater,  101. 
England,  70,  153. 
Engravings    of    St.    Norbert, 

107. 
Enguerrand  I.   of  Coucy,   70, 

131. 
Erbert,  brother  of  Norbert,  3, 

6,  34  (note). 
Ermengardis,      Countess      of 

Roussi,  123. 

Ermensinde,  Countess,  98,  99. 
Evermode,  Blessed,    76,     166, 

204,  268,  328,  331. 
Everwin,  Provost,  226  (note). 
Excommunicated    by    Anacle- 

tus,  Norbert,  301. 


Exhortations  of  Norbert,  50, 
108,  115,  127,  129,  167,  222, 
228,  271,  282,  289,  328. 

Exorcisms,  91,  92,  135,  136, 
321. 

Expedition  of  Lothaire  into 
Italy,  308,  309. 

FAILURES  of  Norbert  in  bring- 
ing about  reform,  33,  66. 

Faith  of  Norbert,  27,  28,  37, 
129,  342. 

Farewell,  Norbert  says,  to 
Premontre,  224,  227;  his 
address,  228. 

Farsit,  Hugh,  181. 

Fasting  of  Norbert,  21,  24,  26, 
31,  41,  52,  119,  120,  124. 

Ferdinand  II.,  Emperor,  347. 

Feudal  s/stem,  Results  of  the, 
52. 

Feuds,  Family,  why  common 
in  those  days,  53. 

Feyten,  Denis,  Abbot,  346. 

Fire  of  Magdeburg,  135,  336, 
341. 

Flanders,  Followers  of  Tan- 
chelm  in,  2,  163. 

Floreffe,  Abbey  of,  99, 101, 131, 
138,  214. 

Foigny,  Norbert  considers,  an 
undesirable  place  for  his 
Order,  67. 

Fontrevault,  The  double  mon- 
astery of  88. 

Formula  of  the  Norbertine 
Profession,  104. 

Fosse,  The  birthplace  of  Hugh, 
47,  53,  54. 

Foundations,  New,  99,  139, 
143,  151,  158,  160,  161. 

Founder,  Norbert  the,  74. 

France,  142,  152,  153,  177,  186. 

Francis,  St.,  of  Assisi,  Nor- 
bert a  worthy  precursor  of, 
37. 


Index 


357 


Freden,  Village  of,  13,  14,  35. 
Frederic,  Archbp.  of  Cologne, 

7,    17,    93,    94,    97,    225;    of 

Swabia,  255. 
Fredesindis,      Foundress      Of 

Mount  St.  Martin,  123. 
Fritzlar,   The  Council   of,   31, 

32,  33,  36,  57,  69,  83. 
Fulco  of  Berne,  325. 
Fiirstenberg,  mountain,  2,  24, 

34,  35   (note). 

GAETA,  John  of,  37. 

Gasquet,  Card.,  cited,  157. 

Gautier,  Bishop,  181,  182; 
Archbp.  of  Ravenna,  296; 
frater,  77,  176,  224,  264. 

Gelasius  II.,  Pope,  31,  37,  39, 
57. 

Gembloux,  Norbert  at,  56. 

Gennep,  Count  or,  2. 

Gerard,  Cardinal,  233,  235,  326, 
332;  frater,  77,  90. 

Gereon,  St.,  Relics  of,  95,  96, 
100. 

Gerhoch  of  Reigensberg,  Ab- 
bot, 211. 

Germany,  First  Foundation 
in,  142;  Abbot  Gautier  in, 
177;  labors  of  Norbert  in, 
195,  218,  221;  growth  of  the 
Order  in,  225;  title  of  su- 
perior different  in,  225, 
(note) ;  opposition  to  Pope 
Innocent  overcome  by  Nor- 
bert in,  256,  302,  305,  309, 
320. 

Gertrude,  daughter  of  the 
Countess  t>f  Cleves,  joins 
the  Order,  123;  St.,  77. 

Gervase,  Abbot,  344. 

Gevekenstein,  Castle  of,  285, 
289. 

Gift  of  "Tongues,"  Miracle  of, 
41. 

Giles,  St.,  Pope  Gelasius  II., 
at,  37;  shrine  at,  38. 

Gilbert,  Abbot,  161. 


Godebald,  Bishop  of  Meissen, 

243,  276. 
Godfrey,    of   Cappenberg,     98, 

140,  141,  149,  151,  153,  260; 

of  Bouillon,  6,  165. 
Goslar,  Norbert  at,  270,  274. 
Gottesgnade,    Abbey    of,    258, 

292,  329. 
Government  of  the  Norbertine 

Order,  117. 

Grammar  school  at  Xanten,  4. 
Gregory  VIII.,  Antipope,  58. 
Gregory  IX.,  Pope,  224. 
Gregory  XIII.,  Pope,  345. 
Gregory,  St.,  of  Nazianz,  34. 
Grimbergen,  Abbey  of,  259. 
Grotto  at  Rolduc,  27. 
Guarin,  frater,  77. 
Gude,  Countess  of  Bonneburg^ 

joins  the  Order,  123. 
Guibert  of  Nogent,  Abbot,  130, 

186. 
Guido,  or  Wido,  priest,  72,  196 

(note). 

Guy,  Archbishop  of  Vienna, 
58. 

HABIT,  gray,  69,  112;  white, 
68,  108,  112,  184,  257;  first 
solemn  reception  of  the,  78; 
of  Canonesses,  124. 

Hadwigis,  mother  of  Norbert, 
1,  2,  3,  5,  35;  Countess  of 
Cleves,  joins  the  Order,  123. 

Haimeric,  Cardinal,  213,  297, 
299. 

Hainault,  Norbert  at,  48,  77. 

Halberstadt,  Otto,  Bp.  of,  240. 

Halierpre1,  79,  214. 

Hartwic,  Bishop,  204. 

Havelberg,  Anselm  of,  40,  111, 
186,  276,  326;  diocese  of, 
253,  344. 

HSlinand,  Bishop  of  Laon,  80. 

Henry  V.,  9,  10,  31,  37,  43,  141, 
148,  255. 

Henry  VIII.,  70. 


358 


Index 


Henry,     Bishop     of    Lucques, 

296,  297. 
Henry,    frater,    77,    160,    224, 

264. 

Henry,  magistrate  of  Magde- 
burg, 281. 
Henry,  son  of  Count  Theobald, 

233,  (note). 

Herfort,  Convent  of,  151. 
Herbert,  Abbot,  178. 
Heribert,   father   of   St.   Nor- 

bert,   2,   6;    brother   of   St. 

Norbert,  2,   34. 
Herman      Joseph,      Bl.,      109 

(note),  226. 
Hermann,  Bishop,  312. 
Hermannus,    Provost    of    St. 

Gereon,  96. 

Hildebrand,  Pope,  5,  52,  245. 
Hohenstaufen,  Origin  of    the 

name  of,  255,  338. 
Holy     Land,      Sufferings     of 

Christians  in  the,  6. 
Holy  Scripture,  Study  of,  26, 

117,  186,  222. 
Honorius  II.,  Pope,  144,  183, 

211,     212,     217,     225,     256; 

death  of,  294. 
Hugh  of  Grenoble,  207. 
Hugh  of  Fosse,  Bl.,  42,  44,  45, 

46,   47,   48,   49,   60,    76,   116, 

195,  197,  261,  262,  328. 
Hugh,  Lord  of  La  Ferte  Milon, 

gives  up  the  abbacy  of  Vi- 

viers  at  Norbert's   request, 

86. 

Humbert,  193. 
Huts    are    built    around    the 

chapel    at    Premontre,    81, 

102,  126. 

IDOL   at    Lunen,  destroyed,  30. 

Ignatius,  St.,  70. 

Ilbenstadt  or  Ilmstadt,  Abbey 
of,  77,  144,  151. 

Illness,  of  companions  of  Nor- 
bert, 42;  of  Norbert,  46,  48, 
323,  325,  326,  327,  328. 


Immaculate  Conception,  de- 
fended by  Norbert,  38, 
(note),  172;  Office  in  honor 
of,  composed  by  Norbert!, 

108,  109;    devotion  to,   108, 

109,  110. 
Imprisonment   of  Norbert   in 

the  tower  of  his  cathedral, 

278. 
Incontinency    of    the    clergy, 

248,   249,   251. 
Innocent  II.,   Pope,   294,   297, 

304,  308,  309,  319. 
Innocent  III.,  Pope,  343. 
Investiture,  Struggle  of,  5,  9, 

52,    148,    243,     (note),    244, 

245,  318;   Norbert's  part  in 

ending  of,  5,  149,  318. 
Italy,  194,  308,  312. 

JERUSALEM,  Capture  of,  6; 
son  of  Count  Theobald, 
King  of,  233,  (note). 

John  the  Baptist,  St.,  3,  4,  69. 

Jonathan,  Cardinal,  297,   298. 

Justemont,  Abbey  of,  178. 

Jutta  of  Cappenberg,  142,  144, 
145,  151. 

KAISEKBUBG,  Castle  of,  270. 


LA  BLANCHE  NEF,  153. 

Lairvelz,  Abbot,  221. 

Laon,  Bishop  of,  59,  61,  64,  67, 
78,  130,  161,  174;  Norbert 
stays  with,  63,  74;  Norbert 
wants  to  leave  the  diocese 
of,  66;  St.  Martin's  Abbey 
at,  65,  77,  174,  176,  214. 

Laybrothers  in  the  Order,  99, 
102,  106,  122. 

Leitzkau,  Monastery  of,  258. 

Leone,  Peter  di,  Cardinal,  179, 
294,  295,  297. 

Letters  of  St.  'Bernard,,  30 
(note),  71  (note),  84,  112, 
153,  161,  187,  191,  193,  195, 
197,  212,  226,  249,  250. 


Index 


359 


Lidge,  Norbert  at,  48,  78,  133, 
139,  177;  Council  of,  300. 

Lisiard,  Bp.  of  Soissons,  86, 
130,  136,  224. 

Liturgy,  Norbertine,  184. 

Lohelius,  John,  Abbot,  346. 

Lorraine,  74,  178,  221;  House 
of,  3. 

Lothaire,  Emperor,  192,  233, 
235,  255,  256,  258,  297,  299, 
309,  312,  315,  316,  317,  318, 
320,  325,  332. 

Louis,  King  of  France,  58. 

Luc,  frater,  77,  101,  161. 

Lucius,  Pope,  233. 

Ludolph,  Bishop  of  Branden- 
burg, 240,  243,  332. 

Ludolph,  hermit,  28. 

Lunen,  Idol  destroyed  at,  30. 

Lusatians  opposed  to  Chris- 
tianity, 253. 

Luther  and  Norbert  compared, 
341. 

Lutheran  Provost  at  Magde- 
burg, 248. 

MAESTRICHT,  Miraculous  hap- 
pening at,  133. 

Magdeburg  (Parthenopolis), 
217,  227,  233,  234,  241,  243, 
252,  253,  266,  268;  cathedral 
desecrated  at,  274;  Norbert 
driven  out  of,  277,  278,  285; 
placed  under  interdict,  286, 
287. 

Mainz,  Archbp.  of,  33,  145. 

Manual  labor  in  the  Order, 
117,  118,  119. 

Marie,  Thomas  de,  80,  130. 

Marriage  of  Theobald  and 
Mathilda,  203,  206,  218,  227, 
231,  232,  233  (note). 

Mass,  More  than  one,  cele- 
brated on  the  same  day,  55 
(note). 

Maxims  of  Norbert,  90,  116, 
209,  273.  (See  Exhorta- 
tions). 


Meeting  of  Norbert,  and 
Bishop  Burchard,  43;  and 
St.  Bernard,  190. 

Meingotus,  Bishop  of  Merse- 
burg,  243,  252. 

Melisindis,  Queen  of  Jeru- 
salem, 197. 

Metel,  Hugh,  181. 

Metz,  City  of,  231  (note); 
diocese  of,  214. 

Middelburg,  Abbey  of,  169 
(note). 

Milo,  frater,  77,  342. 

Milo,  hermit,  160. 

Miracles  of  Norbert  ridiculed 
by  Abelard,  85. 

Miraculous  happenings  in  the 
life  of  Norbert,  14,  27,  41, 
67,  68,  91,  94,  95,  96,  102, 
132,  134,  136,  185,  200,  201, 
202,  220,  248,  270,  311,  321, 
322,  333,  334,  349. 

Missionary  Apostolic,  Norbert 
becomes,  39,  57. 

Missionary,  Norbert  the,  36. 

Mitre,  Use  of  the,  for  supe- 
riors, 224,  225. 

Mock-marriage  of  Tanchelm 
with  the  Bl.  Virgin,  164. 

Monastery  at  Premontre",  The, 
114. 

Monastic  priests,  ideal  of  Nor- 
bert, 105,  106. 

Money  at  Premontre"  stolen, 
75. 

Monstrance  in  the  hand  of 
Norbert,  Meaning  of,  107. 

Motto  of  the  Norbertine 
Order,  34  (note). 

Mount  Cornillon,  Abbey  of, 
78,  177. 

Moustier,  Meeting  at,  55,  56. 

Munich,  Archbp.  of,  33. 

Minister,  Diocese  of,  141,  214; 
Bp.  of,  143,  146. 

Mysterious  words,  heard,  3, 
59,  217;  verified,  75,  235. 


360 


Index 


NAMUK,    Norbert    at,    53,    98, 

133. 

Neo-Manicheism,  164. 
Nieder-Clooster,  144. 
Nienburg,  Abbey  of,  258.       , 
Nivelles,  Norbert  at,  77;  false 

rumors  spread  at,  89,  90. 
Norbert,  his  birth,  2 ;  Baptism, 

4;  name,  4;  education,  4,  5; 

appearance,  5,  18,  26,  31,  69, 

112,  198;  ordination,  7,  18; 

road,  3. 

—  At  the   Court  of  Cologne, 
7,  8,  12;  his  worldly  life,  8, 
11;  becomes  chaplain  of  the 
Emperor,    9;    his    remorse, 
12;    his  conversion,   13,  14, 
15;  his  inward  struggle,  17; 
his  penance,  19,  20,  21,  26, 
45,  50. 

—  Is   persecuted,    22,   23,   25, 
30,   31,   32,   57,   84,   85,   146, 
182;  leaves  his  native  coun- 
try, 34;  sells  all  he  has,  34, 
35;    defends  himself  before 
the  Council  at  Fritzlar,  32; 
visits    Pope    Gelasius,    39; 
meets  Bl.  Hugh,  44;   meets 
Pope  Calixtus,  62;    goes  to 
Laon,  63;  is  made  Abbot  of 
St.  Martin's,  65. 

—  His  coming  to  Premontre, 
67;   reception  of  the  white 
habit,    68;    journey    to    Co- 
logne,   94,     95;    coming    to 
Antwerp,    167;    sermon    at 
Antwerp,    167;     says    fare- 
well to  Premontre",  224,  228. 

—  Is    elected    Archbishop    of 
Magdeburg,  235;   his  arriv- 
al,  241;    is   refused   admit- 
tance,  242;    is  consecrated, 
243,    244;    is    opposed,    246, 
247,  269,  270,  272,  274,  275, 
278,    279;    excommunicates 
Conrad   of  Franconia,   256; 
visits  Premontre",  259;  is  im-^ 
prisoned  in  the  tower,  278; 


attacks  on  his  life,  269,  270, 
272,  279,  280,  284,  285;  is 
struck  with  a  sword,  280; 
is  driven  from  the  city,  283, 
286;  places  the  city  under 
interdict,  286;  his  return  to 
Magdeburg,  288,  289. 

—  Defender    of   the    Papacy, 
294;     his    interest    in    the 
cause  of  Pope  Innocent,  294, 
311,  312,  314,  315;  is  excom- 
municated    by     Anacletus, 
301;    defends  the  rights  of 
the   Holy    See    against   Lo- 
thaire,    318;    is    made    Pri- 
mate of  Germany,  320. 

—  Sickness,  46,  48,  323,  325, 
326,    329;    his    death,    330; 
burial,  331,  332. 

Norbert,  St.,  and  St.  Bernard, 

188. 

Norbertine  Breviary,  182,  T83. 
Norbertine    Order    (See    Pre- 

monstratensian ) . 
Novitiate  in  the  Order,  106. 
Nymegen,  City  of,  2. 
Noyon,   Bishop   of,    179;    city 

of,  185. 
Nuns,  Norbertine,  88,  89,  103, 

122,  123,  124,  125,  218. 

OBERZELL,  Abbey  of,  220. 

Object  of  the  Norbertine 
Order,  105,  107,  110,  180. 

Obsequies  of  St.  Norbert,  332. 

Office,  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
composed  by  Norbert,  108, 
109,  110;  duty  of  singing 
divine,  117,  124. 

Oosterhout,  Convent  of,  169 
(note). 

Ordericus,  295. 

Ordination  of  Norbert,  7,  18, 
19. 

Organization  of  the  Norbert- 
ine Order,  114,  117. 

Orleans,  Norbert  at,  41. 

Otho,  St.,  of  Bamberg,  70; 
apostle  of  the  Slavs,  253. 


Index 


361 


Otto,  Bishop  of  Halberstadt, 
240,  244;  Count  of  Cappen- 
berg,  142,  151;  the  Great, 
252. 


PAPACY,  Norbert,  Defender  of 
the,  294. 

Paintings  of  Norbert,  107,  171, 
172,  217,  351. 

Pallium,  Norbert  receives, 
251;  meaning  of,  251 
(note). 

Paschal  II.,  Pope,  yields  to 
Henry  V.,  11;  death  of,  37. 

Patience,  characteristic  vir- 
tue of  Norbert,  28. 

Paulicians,  162. 

Peacemaker,  Norbert  the,  48, 
52,  53,  54,  55,  57,  86,  90. 

Penitential  robe  of  Norbert, 
20,  26. 

Peter  the  Hermit,  36. 

Peter  the  Venerable,  66. 

Peter,  St.,  Damian,  52. 

Petersberg,  Monastery  of,  258, 
286. 

Petrobusians,  162. 

Pius  VII.,  Pope,  cited,  137. 

Pius  X.,  Pope,  cited,  167,  257. 

Plots  against  the  life  of 
Norbert,  269,  270,  272,  279, 
280,  284,  285. 

Poelde,  Abbey  of,  258,  292. 

Poland,  First  Foundation 
in,  178. 

Pomerania,  Labors  of  the 
Norbertines  in,  253,  254. 

Poverty  of  Norbert,  34,  76, 
120,  204,  207,  222,  245. 

Prague,  Archbp.  of,  246. 

Premonstratensian  Order,  ori- 
gin of,  65,  66;  name  of,  70; 
object  of,  105,  106,  109;  ap- 
probation of,  174,  179,  211, 
213,  214,  215;  missionary 
and  parochial  work  of,  82, 
110,  111,  112,  117,  133,  145, 
253,  254,  268. 


Premontre,  Norbert's  first 
visit  to,  67;  why  chosen,  69; 
name  of,  70;  monastery 
robbed  at,  75;  deed  of  the 
property  of,  79;  strict  life 
at,  81,  117;  community 
growing  at,  102,  115,  127, 
203;  monastery  at,  114; 
visited  by  Norbert  as  Arch- 
bishop, 259;  in  a  bad  state, 
259;  election  of  an  abbot  at, 
261;  visited  by  Pope  Inno- 
cent, 306. 

Preneste,  Cuno  of,  Cardinal, 
31,  83,  298. 

Pribislau,  253. 

Primate  of  Germany,  Norbert, 
320. 

Profession,  Solemn,  of  first 
disciples,  103,  104. 

Property  of  Premontre',  by 
whom  given,  71  (note). 

Provost,  of  Cappenberg,  Nor- 
bert, 143;  of  St.  Mary's,  224, 
347;  title  of,  224  (note). 

Provostry  at  Magdeburg,  266, 
344,  345,  346,  247. 

Pruetis,  John  de,  346. 

QUELLENBURG,  Abbey  of,  151. 
Querfurt,  Conrad  of,  Archbp. 

of  Magdeburg,  329,  335. 
Questenburg,  Caspar  von,  346. 

RALPH  OF  LAON,  School  of,  74. 

Raoul,  Dr.,  81. 

Ratisbon,  Norbert  at,  204,  206, 
226,  231;  Diet  of,  9. 

Ratzeburg,  Bp.  of,  77,  344. 

Reform,  foremost  in  the  mind 
of  Norbert,  22,  23,  28,  72, 
138,  190;  at  St.  Martin's  in 
Laon,  65,  66;  in  Magdeburg, 
245,  257,  258. 

Reinerus,  Abbot,  261. 

Relatives  of  Norbert  at  Laon, 
63. 


362 


Index 


Relics,  at  Cologne,  93,  94,  95, 
96,  136;  of  St.  Norbert,  337, 
346,  349. 

Religious,  Daily  life  of  the,  at 
Premontre,  117. 

Remuneration  refused  by  Nor- 
bert and  Hugh,  49. 

Retrospect  of  the  life  of  St. 
Norbert,  337. 

Rheims,  Council  of,  58,  59,  62, 
303. 

Ricvere,  First  Norbertine  Sis- 
ter, 89,  122,  123,  125. 

Richard,  frater,  77,  101,  132, 
221,  263. 

Richenza,  Empress,  317. 

Rieval,  Abbey  of,  178. 

Riots  at  Magdeburg,  277,  278, 
283,  286. 

Robert  of  Citeaux,  71. 

Roger,  Duke  of  Sicily,  308. 

Roggensburg,  Abbey  of, 
known  for  its  library,  218. 

Rolduc,  Norbert  at,  27,  29. 

Rome,  Norbert  at,  9,  11,  211, 
217,  313,  314,  315;  Norbert's 
statue  at,  351;  Henry  V.  at, 
9,  10;  Synod  of,  52. 

Romuald,  St.,  Abbot,  71. 

Roncaglia,  where  the  Pope 
and  the  King  met,  313. 

Rosieres,  Land  at,  given  the 
brethren  to  cultivate,  80. 

Roth,  Abbey  of,  218. 

Roucy,  Adele  de,  61. 

Rudger,  Archbp.  233. 

Rudolph,  Abbot  of  St.  Pan- 
thaleon,  96,  97. 

Rule  of  St.  Augustine,  83,  102, 
103  (note),  213,  250;  uncer- 
tainty of  Norbert  concern- 
ing the,  82,  102. 

Rules,  written,  necessary,  82, 
123;  of  the  Fathers,  22. 

Rupert,  Abbot,  21. 

SAINT  JOSSE,  Abbey  of,  139, 
160. 


Saint  Josse-au-Bois,  77,  160. 

Saint  Marie-au-Bois,  77,  221. 

Saint  Martin's  Abbey  at  Laon, 
65,  77,  174,  176,  214. 

Saint  Mary's  Provostry  at 
Magdeburg,  224,  266,  274, 
291,  345. 

Saint  Michael's  Abbey  at  Ant- 
werp, 169,  174,  214. 

Saint  Vincent's  Abbey  at 
Laon,  67,  80. 

Sacramentarian  heresy,  107. 

Salve,  Convent  at  Floreffe, 
101. 

Satan  disturbs  Premontre,  89, 
92,  136,  145,  152,  200. 

Saul  of  Tarsus,  16. 

Scapular,  The  white,  106. 

Scheida  Abbey,  151. 

Schism  of  Anacletus,  294,  303, 
304. 

Sermons  of  Norbert  referred 
to,  22,  25,  30,  48,  50,  55,  56, 
62,  76,  167,  168,  234,  289,  340. 

Servace,  St.,  133. 

Servant  of  Norbert  struck 
with  a  sword,  280,  288. 

Siburg,  Abbey  of,  16,  29. 

Siegfried,  Abbot,  80. 

Silence  strictly  observed,  120. 

Silly,  Abbey  of,  159. 

Similarity  between  St.  Ber- 
nard and  St.  Norbert,  188, 
189,  190. 

Simon,  Abbot,  81;  Duke  of 
Lorraine,  221. 

Simony,  Prevalence  of,  52, 
248. 

Slavs  or  Wends,  252. 

Soissons,  Synod  of,  83,  85,  186, 
190  (note). 

Spain,  Foundation  made  in, 
206. 

Spider  in  Norbert's  chalice, 
27. 

Spires,  Diet  of,  233,  240. 


Index 


363 


Statues  of  Norbert,  107,  351. 

Statutes,  First  written,  103, 
120,  265. 

Steinfeld  Abbey,  225,  226,  346. 

Storm  at  Freden,  13. 

St.  Peter's,  Shocking  scene  in, 
10. 

Strahov  Abbey,  350. 

Strzelno  Abbey,  350. 

Study,  Necessity  of,  for  a  Nor- 
bertine,  117,  118. 

Subdeacon,  Norbert  ordained, 
7,  18. 

Subjects  of  sermons  of  Nor- 
bert, 50,  52. 

Switzerland,  177. 

TANCHELM,  The  heretic,  2,  107, 
163;  his  doctrine,  164,  165; 
his  fanaticism,  164;  his  fol- 
lowers, 165. 

Theban  Legion,  Martyrs  of 
the,  2,  96. 

Theobald,  Count,  153,  154,  155, 
156,  158,  186,  193,  203,  218, 
226,  231,  233  (note). 

Theodoricus,  frater,  101 

Therouanne,  Bp.  of,  77,  160. 

Third  Order  of  St.  Norbert, 
106,  107  (note),  152,  155, 
156,  158,  170. 

Thomas  de  Marie,  130. 

Tomb,  of  St.  Gereon  guarded, 
97;  of  Bl.  Ricvere,  125. 

Tongerloo,  Abbey  of,  169 
(note). 

Translation  of  the  Relics  of 
St.  Norbert,  349,  350. 

Tree  of  St.  Norbert,  202. 

Triumph  of  St.  Norbert, 
Feast  of,  173. 

Troy,  City  of,  2. 

Tyre  in  Palestine,  6. 

UDO,  Bp.  of  Naumberg,  243. 
Ulric,  Abbot,  161. 
Ulderic,  St.,  55   (note). 
University    of    Cologne,    Nor- 
bert at,  4  (note),  5. 


Unterzell,  Abbey  of,  220. 
Ursion,  Bp.  of  Verdun,  178. 
Ursperg,  Abbey  of,  206,  218. 
Ursula,     St.,    Apparition    of, 

95;   relics  of,  95. 
Utrecht,  Diocese  of,  163,  164. 

VALENCIENNES,    Norbert 

preaches  at,  41;  Hugh  joins 

Norbert  at,  47. 
Valentano,  313. 
Valsecret  Abbey,  158. 
Varlar   Abbey,   139,    144,   151, 

214. 

Vauclair  Abbey,  161. 
Veil,     Mysterious,     in     Maes- 

tricht,  133,  134. 
Verner,    Count    of    Swabecki, 

206. 

Vicelinus,  Priest,  252. 
Victorians  in  Paris,  177. 
Vicogne,  Abbey  of,  72. 
Vindeburg  Abbey,  205. 
Viviers   Abbey,    86,    139,    159, 

225. 

Vir,  Falcon  de,  61. 
Vision,  of  St.  Norbert,  68;  of 

Bl.  Hugh,  128,  262,  334. 
Viterbo,    Pope    Innocent    at, 

313. 

Voas,  Forest  of,  176. 
Vows,  First  Solemn,  104. 

WALTMANN,  Bl.,  77,  166,  169, 

263,  264. 

Weddinghausen  Abbey,  151. 
Weissenau  Abbey,  218  (note). 
Well  of  St.  Norbert,  202. 
Wends  or  Slavs,  252,  253,  268. 
Wesel,  City  of,  2,  144,  151. 
Westphalia,  31,  134,  140,  141, 

144,  152. 

White  Canons,  70,  172. 
Winter,  of,  1125,  207. 
Wido     or     Guido,      72,      196 

(note). 

William,  Cardinal,  233  (note). 
William,  Count  of  Poitou,  308. 


364 


Index 


William,  son  of  Theobald,  233. 
Willibrord,  St.,  171  (note). 
Wilten  Abbey,  218. 
Wirburg  Abbey,  151. 
Witikind,  253. 
Woolen   habit   worn   by   Nor- 

bert,  69. 
Worldliness  at  the   Court  of 

Cologne,  8,  12. 
Writings  of  Norbert,  304,  339, 

340,  341. 
Wurzburg,   (Herbipolis)     219, 


220,  310,  311,  320;   Diet  at 
299. 

XANTEN,  birthplace  of  Nor- 
bert, 2,  4,  14,  21,  24,  28,  33, 
67,  178,  260. 

Xenodochium,  (almshouse), 
122,  144,  150,  209. 

Yvo  of  Cathena,  185. 

ZACHAKY,  Abbot,  178. 
Zoetendaal       Convent,        169 
(note). 


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